TS 

735 


IC-NRLF 


SB    577 


lnd  Series 

COLONIAL 


LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


OF 


Received 
Accession  No. 


.    Class  No. 


The  Towle  Mfg.  Company 
<*?>  ^  SILVERSMITHS  «**>  ^ 

Newburyport,  Mass.    "^    Chicago,  111. 


Copyright,      1899,    by     The     Towle     Mfg.      Company. 


STERLING 


£900110,  forftg 


anb  all  otljer  pieces  of  *&*t)le 


in  tl)i£  fioofe,  in 


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anti 


i&entifteti 


i#  momentous  conflict  >anti  in 


exemplifying  tfte  (folonfal,  or  mo^t 


property  calleb 


of 


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beribeti;  tofticfj  #tple  toa#  ftr^t  protmcefc  to 


to  tdcrigtjtrrnt))  tentuta?  anb 


toa^tftere^ult  of  an  adaptation  of  cla##ical 


element^  to  neto  condition^  of  application,  anb 


the     KING, 

A     PROCLAMATION, 

For  fupprefllng  Rebellion  and  Sedition. 
GEORGE    R. 

HERE AS  many  ot  Our  Subjects  in  divers  Parts  of  Our  Colonies  and  Plantations 
in  Nanh  America,  milled  by  dangerous  and  iil-dcfigning  Men,  and  forgetting 
the  Allegiance  which  they  owe  to  the  Power  that  has  protected  and  fuftained 
them,  after  various  diforderlv  Acts  committed  in  Difturbance  of  the  Publiclc 
Peace,  to  the  Obftruction  of  lawful  Commerce,  and  to  the  OpprelTton  of  Our 
loyal  Subjects  carrying  on  the  fame,  have  at  length  proceeded  to  an  open  and 
avowed  Rebellion,  by  arraying  themfelves  in  hoftile  Manner  to  withftand  the 
Execution  of  the  Law,  and  traitoroufly  preparing,  ordering,  and '  levying  War 
againft  Us;  And  whereas  there  is  Reafon.to  apprehend  that  fuch  Rebellion  hath 
been  much  promoted  and  encouraged  by  the  traitt  rous  Correfpondence,  Counfels,  and  Comfort  of 
divers  wicked  and  defperate  Perfoiis  within  this  Realm  :  To  the  End  therefore  that  none  of  Our  Subjects 
may  neglect  or  violate  their  Duty  through  Ignorance  thcreot,  or  through  any  Doubt 'of  the  Protection 
which  the  Law  will  afford  to  their  Loyalty  and  Zeal ;  We  have  thought  fit,  by  and  with  the  Advice  of 
Our  Privy  Council,  to  ilTue  this  Our  Royal  Proclamation,  hereby  declaring  that  not  only  all  Our 
Officers  Civil  and  Military  are  obliged  to  exert  their  utmoft  Endeavours  to  fupprefs  fuch  Rebellion,  and 
to  bring  the  Traitors  to  Juftice;  but  that  all  Our  Subjects  of  this  Realm  and  the  Dominions' thereunto 
belonging  are  bound  by  Law  to  be  aiding  and  a(Tifting,ii\  the  Suppreffion  of  fuch  Rebellion,  and  to 
difclofe  and  make  known  all  traitorous  Confpiracies  and  Attempts  againft  Us,  Our  Crown  and  Dignity; 
And  We  do  accordingly  ftrjctly  charge  and  command  all  Our  Officers  as  well  Civil  as  Military, 
and  all  other  Our  obedient  and  loyal  Subjects,  to  ufe  their  utmoft  Endeavours  to  withftand  and 
fupprefs  fuch.  Rebellion,  and  to  difclofe  and  make  known  all  Treafons  and  traitorous  Confpi- 
r.icics  which  'they  /hall  know  to  be  againft  Us,  Our  Crown  and  Dignity;  and  for  that  Purpofe, 
That  they  tranfmit  to  One  of  Our  Principal  Secretaries  of  State,  or  other  proper  Officer,  due  and 
full  Information  of  all  Perfons  who  fhall  be  found  carrying  on  Correfpondence  with,  or  in  any 
Manner  or  Degree  aiding  or  abetting  the  Perfons  now  in  open  Arms  ,  and .  Rebellion  againft  Our 
Government  within  any  of  Our  Colonies  and  Plantations  ii>  North  America,  in  order  to  bring  to 
condign  PunifKment  tht  Authors,  Perpetrators,  and  Abettors  of  fuch  traitorous  Defigns. 

Given  at  Our  Court  at  St  Jamets,  the  Twenty-third  Day  of  Augufl,    One   ihoufand 
feven  hundred  and  feventy-five,  in  the  Fifteenth  Year  of  Our  Reign. 


God    fave    the    King. 


LONDON, 

Printed  by  Charlei  Ejrt  and  William  Siralaa.  Printers  to  the  King's  moil  Excellent  Majefly, 


11111111111  .....  \\r- 


111  "=  N  the   outskirts  of  Portsmouth,    New   Hampshire,  by  the   water's  edge, 

r~"       :      stands  a  picturesque  old  mansion  that  will,   if  we  are  so  minded,  carry 
us  backward,  at  one  step,   to  the   "Old  Colony  days"  when  George 
\\r-     Ill  ruled  over  the  English  people  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. 

It  was  built  by  Governor  Benning  Wentworth,  and  from  under  its  roof 
issued  those  first  edicts  of  oppression  that  stirred  the  people  to  revolt.  Within 
its  walls  one  needs  but  little  help  from  fancy  to  people  it  again  with  loyal  re- 
tainers, assembled,  perhaps,  in  its  ancient  council  chamber,  with  ample  chim- 
ney-piece, the  carven  heads  of  which  might,  could  they  exercise  the  privilege  of 
their  sex,  reveal  many  a  bit  of  inner  history.  We  are  prosaic  indeed  if  we  do  not 
feel  the  menace  of  sudden  alarms  suggested  by  the  grim  array  of  muskets  on  either 
side  of  the  stoutly  barred  door  ;  and  the  discovery  of  a  prisoner's  ward,  tucked  away 
in  a  remote  corner,  should  complete  a  realization  of  the  stern  conditions  of  life  in  the 
eighteenth  century. 

It  is  not  our  purpose,  however,  to  linger  in  this  house,  fascinating  though  it  be, 
but  to  pass  through  it  from  the  world  of  to-day  to  the  times  it  so  vividly  recalls. 
Two  names  that  are  intimately  connected  with  it  will  readily  take  us  across  the 
ocean,  and  back  through  a  century  and  more,  to  the  court  of  the  king  whose  mis- 
guided policy  was  the  birth-warrant  of  our  nation.  One  of  these  we  find  in  New- 
castle, separated  by  a  devious  inlet  from  Little  Harbor  —  where  Governor  Wentworth 
built  —  and  reminiscent  of  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  who  was  prime  minister  of 
England  and  leader  of  the  Whig  party  at  the  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary  period. 
A  few  years  later,  after  the  turn  of  events  had  deprived  him  of  power,  he  again  7 
entered  the  cabinet  with  the  post  of  privy  seal  under  the  leadership  of  the  Marquis  of 
Rockingham,  a  member  of  the  Wentworth  family,  for  whom  Governor  Wentworth 
had  named  the  county  back  of  Portsmouth  and  Newcastle. 

Although  nominally  representative  of  the  people,  Parliament  was  in  those  days 
the  creature  of  its  leaders,  or  the  King,  as  successive  complications  favored  one  or  the 
other  ;  boroughs  were  bought  or  bullied  by  the  dominant  party,  and  thus  the  mo- 
mentous enactments  that  goaded  the  colonists  to  revolt  were  the  results  of  contested 


intrigue,  a  game  with  living 
played  by  the  government 
which  the  English  people 
The  conception  of  the 
to  Jenkinson,  secretary  to 
vored  minister;  but  Parlia- 


pieces  and  tremendous  stakes, 
and  the  opposition,  and  in 
had  little  real  voice, 
odious  Stamp  Act  is  credited 
Lord  Bute,  the  King's  fa- 
ment  rejected  it  when  first 

Stamp 


1766 


proposed,  although  it  was  universally  conceded  that  America  should  contribute  to  the 
payment  of  the  enormous  public  debt  contracted  in  the  protection  of  the  colonies 
from  the  French  and  Indians.  Even  Americans  acquiesced  in  this  sentiment,  but 
they  proposed  to  pay  it  by  grants  from  their  assemblies  and  in  their  own  way. 
George,  however,  had  been  exhorted  by  his  mother,  the  Princess  Dowager,  to  "be 
a  king"  and  encouraged  to  assert  his  individuality  —  advice  which  conditions  did  not 
favor,  nor  the  King's  ability  warrant,  but  which  he  persistently  endeavored  to  carry 
out  in  spite  of  its  disastrous  effect.  Under  these  circumstances  the  proposition  to 

J7^5  levy  a  stamp  tax  was  revived  and  the  act  passed  in  February,  1765.  William  Pitt, 
the  constant  champion  of  the  colonies,  was  ill  at  the  time,  and  greatly  deplored  its 
passage.  Throughout  the  remainder  of  his  life,  which  ended  while  the  war  was  in 

J77&  progress,  Pitt,  afterwards  Lord  Chatham,  was  an  ardent  advocate  of  the  liberties  of  the 
colonists  ;  but  his  efforts  were  of  little  avail,  and  although  he  was  at  one  time  urged 
by  the  King  to  form  a  ministry,  many  concessions  being  made  to  induce  him  to  do 
so,  personal  ambition  and  the  resulting  internal  friction  had  so  divided  his  party 
that  he  was  unable  to  unite  the  leaders,  and  the  policy  then  in  force  was  suffered  to 
continue. 

In  America  the  Stamp  Act  was  resented  as  a  measure  of  arbitrary  domination,  an 
irritating  and  unreasonable  form  of  taxation  with  no  compensatory  representation. 
Virginia  was  the  first  colony  to  voice  the  opposition  to  this  measure,  and  was  imme- 
diately followed  by  Massachusetts,  which  proposed  a  congress  of  delegates  from  the 

T7^5  assemblies  of  all  the  colonies  to  take  united  action  in  protest.  The  congress  met  in 
1765,  and  as  a  result  of  this,  and  Pitt's  scathing  denunciation  in  England,  the  Stamp 
Act  was  repealed  early  in  the  following  year. 

The  King  from  this  time  lost  no  opportunity  of  strengthening  his  party  in 
Parliament,  and  by  the  patronage  he  could  dispense  and  the  intimidation  of  country 
boroughs,  was  able  to  control  both  houses  and  secure  the  enactment  of  his  policy. 
His  next  measure  was  the  levying  of  import  duties  on  colonial  commerce,  which  was 


JJTijr 


ftct 


7767 


<j£0utmt  (BHmufcer 

"     .  vVs."..'-'..'.;;:  .V'°' 


7770 


growing  rapidly  in  importance,  espe- 
cially with  the  West  Indies ;  and  with 
England  alone  amounted  to  about  six 
million  pounds  per  year,  nearly  equal- 
ling the  total  of  British  commerce  with 
the  world  at  the  beginning  of  that 
century.  This  also  met  with  bitter 
protest  and  was  later  repealed  on  every- 
thing but  tea,  which  was  made  to  bear 
the  burden  of  the  principle  of  English 
sovereignty.  This  principle  was  as 
clearly  discerned  in  America  as  hi  Eng- 
land, and  the  renunciation  of  tea  be- 
came a  test  of  patriotism.  Philadelphia 
had  publicly  denounced  all  traffic  in 
tea,  and  the  act  had  been  endorsed  by 
Boston  when  three  ships  laden  with 
the  obnoxious  commodity  arrived  at 
the  latter  port.  Their  arrival  was  fol- 
lowed by  indignant  gatherings  in  Fan- 
euil  Hall,  and  the  consignees  were 
forced  by  public  opinion  to  promise 
that  the  ships  would  be  sent  back  with- 
out unloading ;  but  this  the  Royal  Gov- 
ernor refused  to  permit,  and  declared 
that  no  clearance  papers  would  be  is- 
sued until  the  cargoes  were  discharged. 
At  the  close  of  a  particularly  demon- 
strative meeting  held  at  the  Old  South  Church  on  the  afternoon  of  December 
sixteenth,  1773,  a  party  of  fifty  citizens,  disguised  as  Indians,  led  the  way  to  the 
wharf,  and,  boarding  the  vessels,  scattered  into  the  harbor  the  contents  of  three 
hundred  and  forty-two  chests,  the  property  of  the  East  India  Company,  valued  in  the 
neighborhood  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

In  consequence  of  this  action  and  lesser  excuses,  Massachusetts  was  subjected  to  *774 
a  repressive  policy  which  deprived  the  colonists  of  many  liberties  and  was  intended 
to  precipitate  a  struggle,  which  the  King  believed  would  be  short  and  decisive,  for 

the  purpose   of  finally  settling  the  dependence  of  the 
colonies  and  the  sovereignty  of  England. 

The  effect  of  this  "Port  Bill,"  as  the  chief  of 
these  measures  was  called,  was  —  as  was  expected  — 
to  confirm  the  colonists  in  their  resistance,  but  not  in 
the  rash  and  isolated  way  that  was  hoped  for.  Keen, 
powerful  intellects  guided  the  people,  in  the  persons 
of  Samuel  Adams,  John  Adams,  Robert  Treat  Paine, 
and  others,  and  they  immediately  set  about  to  secure 
the  cooperation  of  the  other  colonies,  many  of  which 
were  ripe  for  action,  notably  Virginia,  where  Patrick 


Stamp 


Uoston 


17&5   Henry   had  some  years  earlier  openly  denounced  British  oppression,  but  had  lacked 
the  clear  issues  prevalent  in  the  Bay  State.      They  organized  a  Committee  of  Corres- 
pondence, and,  authorized  by  the   General  Assembly  of  Massachusetts,  urged  each 
i774   colony  to   send   delegates  to  a  congress  at  Philadelphia   on  the   first   of  the  following 
September. 

In  June  of  that  year,  1774,  the  port  of  Boston,  then  under  the  military  rule  of 
General  Gage  —  who  had  superseded  Governor  Hutchinson  —  was  closed  to  com- 
merce, causing  a  complete  stagnation  of  business  of  all  kinds,  and  much  deprivation 
and  suffering  among  the  people. 

A  considerable  element  in  Parliament  was  strongly  opposed  to  this  cruelty, 
and  champions  of  the  cause  of  America  were  not  lacking  who  predicted  the  ultimate 
ruin  England  would  suffer  from  this  unwarranted  oppression  of  her  own  sons,  to 
whom,  as  they  urged,  the  sentiments  of  liberty  were  as  precious,  and  whose  strength 
of  purpose  was  as  great,  as  though  no  ocean  separated  them  from  the  free  institutions 
of  the  mother  country.  They  were  powerless,  however,  to  check  the  wave  of  vin- 
dictiveness  that  now,  under  the  fostering  care  of  the  King's  favorites,  was  extending 
even  to  the  people. 

The  large  cities,  always  the  strongholds  of  advanced  ideas,  were  still  in  sympathy 
with  the  colonists,  and  the  spectacle  is  presented  of  the  city  of  London,  in  its  corporate 
capacity,  subscribing  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  for  the  relief  of  suffering 
in  Boston,  caused  by  the  acts  of  Parliament.  These  were  eventful  days  in  the  New 
England  town,  for  although  the  people  suffered,  their  enthusiasm  was  in  no  way 
diminished,  and  they  overthrew  all  civil  institutions  emanating  from  the  crown. 

Many  prominent  people  who  had  until  this 
time  reserved  the  right  to  support  the  King's 
government  and  hoped  for  a  peaceful  settle- 
ment of  all  troubles,  now  saw  the  serious- 
ness of  the  situation,  and  realizing  the  near 
approach  of  inevitable  division,  sank  their 
personal  regrets  in  love  of  country  and  joined 
heartily  in  the  cause  of  liberty. 

On  the  fifth  of  September,  fifty-three 
delegates  assembled  in  Carpenter's  Hall, 
Philadelphia,  and  under  the  presidency  of 
Peyton  Randolph,  of  Virginia,  formed  a  Con- 
tinental Congress.  While  recognizing  the 
necessity  of  united  action,  these  delegates,  as 
a  whole,  had  not  yet  reached  a  realization  of 
the  need  of  aggressive  rebellion.  The  habit 
of  loyalty  was  too  strong  to  be  put  off  at 
once,  and  it  was  with  a  certain  deference, 
albeit  firmness,  that  they  appealed  to  the 
King,  and  to  the  people  of  Great  Britain,  to 
withdraw  the  odious  measures  that  threat- 
ened to  alienate  the  colonies.  Georgia,  the 
especial  prot6g6  of  the  King,  was  alone  un- 
represented at  this  gathering,  and  though  at 


'77 


Continental  <£an0vrss 


JFaneuttffcaU 


Boston 


heart  the  delegates  dreaded 
the  culmination  of  events 
which  their  acts  were  for- 
warding, the  congress 
adopted  measures  to 
strengthen  the  union  and 
co-operation  of  the  states, 
indorsed  Massachusetts  in 
its  resistance,  and  planned 
and  appointed  a  second 
congress  to  meet  the  fol- 
lowing May.  Although 
independence  was  not  yet 
declared,  and,  in  the  minds 
of  many,  was  only  a  re- 
mote possibility,  it  was  in 
reality  inaugurated  on  that 
twentieth  of  October, 
1774,  when  the  "Dec- 
laration of  Colonial 
Rights,"  a  comprehensive  document  which  recited  the  injustices  of  Parliament  and 
asserted  the  right  of  self-government,  was  signed  by  the  "American  Association," 
the  forerunner  of  the  confederacy  later  announced  as  the  "United  States  of 
America." 

As  seed  cast  on  fertile  ground  germinates  and  develops  of  its  innate  powers,  so 
the  American  Revolution  needed  but  the  lightest  sanction  of  administrative  authority. 
Its  real  life  was  the  unwavering  determination  of  individuals  and  communities  to  meet 
squarely  every  issue,  to  see  great  principles  behind  even  small  aggressions,  to  neither 
palliate  nor  compromise,  to  rise  above  considerations  of  policy  and  to  act  from  the  first 
with  no  provision  for  failure  and  no  desire  for  qualified  victory. 

Separation  from  the  mother  country  was  but  incidental  to  this  struggle,  and  was 
only  determined  upon  when  in  the  progress  of  events  it  was  recognized  as  inevitable. 
The  principles  of  liberty  for  which  the  patriots  contended  were  no  less  applicable  here 
than  in  England  itself,  where  their  kinsmen  had  declared  and  enacted  them  nearly  a 
century  before. 

This  spirit  was  manifest,  but  it  was  King  George,  with  his  succession  of  blundering 
provocations,  who  nourished  the  Revolution.  Had  he  realized  the  quality  of  the 
resistance  and  listened  to  the  entreatings  of  Franklin  and  the  other  colonial  agents  at 
Parliament,  he  could  easily  have  retained  that  loyalism  which  was  dear  to  the  colon- 
ists, and  the  price  of  which  was  only  the  extension  of  equal  liberty  to  his  subjects  at 
home  and  abroad. 

Although  at  this  time  the  Americans  were  endeavoring  to  obtain  a  peaceful  estab- 
lishment of  their  rights,  they  clearly  perceived  the  need  of  military  organization,  and 
in  November  the  "Provincial  Congress"  of  Massachusetts, — the  General  Court 
under  a  new  name  —  voted  to  enroll  twelve  thousand  "minute  men"  who  were  to 
be  prepared  to  respond  immediately  when  the  conflict  should  begin  ;  later  it  declared 
its  wish  for  peace,  but  advised  preparations  for  war.  Other  colonies  took  similar 


'774 


*774 


*774  /~v^_^  *>  r~"  action  and  many  minor  episodes  took  place  which  are  locally  held 
to  be  the  initiative  of  the  Revolution.  December  sixth,  the  peo- 
ple of  Rhode  Island  seized  a  large  quantity  of  ordnance  in  the 
batteries  at  Newport,  in  anticipation  of  its  employment  by  the 
King's  troops,  and  the  same  action  was  taken  on  the  thirteenth 
by  the  people  of  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  who  seized  and 
removed  a  large  quantity  of  ammunition  and  ordnance  then  in 
the  keeping  of  the  garrison  of  Fort  William  and  Mary,  at  New- 

f775  fefrVJfiff  HHS^^J  castle-  In  the  following  February,  the  people  of  Salem,  Mas- 
sachusetts, taking  heed  from  the  warning  of  their  governing  body, 
began  preparations  for  defense.  These  were  met  by  an  expedi- 
tion from  Gage's  forces  at  Boston,  and  an  engagement  was 
narrowly  averted.  The  real  uprising,  however,  from  which 
armed  rebellion  dates,  was  to  come  later  at  Concord  and  Lex- 
ington. 

Parliament  had  officially  declared  a  state  of  rebellion  existent 
in  Massachusetts  and  embarked  large  reinforcements  to  the  three 
thousand  British  troops  in  Boston,   while    the   patriots  watched 
every  movement  of  the  British  and  prepared  to  meet  their  first 
advance,   which  in  the  nature  of  things  could  not  long  be  de- 
layed.     General  Gage,  the  British  commander,  realized  it  to  be 
his  duty  to   break  up  these  preparations,  and  planned  a  secret 
raid  on  the  stores  and  munitions  which  the  Americans  had  con- 
centrated at  Concord,  some  miles  from  Boston,  in  order  that  they 
might  be  safely  outside  the  line  of  fortifications  which  the  British 
were   erecting.       The  plan  also   included  the  capture  of  John 
Hancock  and  Samuel  Adams,  who  were  believed  to  be  in  that 
neighborhood,  and  who  were  justly  regarded  as  most  dangerous  to  British  interests. 
With  this  object  troops  to  the  number  of  eight  hundred  left  Boston  for  Cambridge 
shortly  before  midnight  of  April  eighteenth,  and  with  such  speed  as  was  possible, 
marched  toward  Lexington,  on  the  road  to  Concord.      They  had  counted  on  the 
secrecy  of  their  movements  to  make  the  attainment  of  their  object  easy,  but  in  this  they 
underestimated  the  watchfulness  and  penetration  of  their  opponents,  for  their  purpose 
was  understood  in  advance  and  measures  taken  to  spread  the  alarm  when  they  should 
actually  start. 

Paul  Revere  had  obtained  the  information,  and  he  repaired  to  Charlestown  that 
evening,  there  to  await  the  signal  which  he  had  directed  to  be  shown  from  the  spire 
of  the  North  Church  when  the  soldiers  were  known  to  have  started.  The  two 
lights,  telling  him  that  they  had  gone  by  water  to  Cambridge,  shone  out  at  eleven 
o'clock  and  started  Revere  on  his  momentous  ride.  He  was  obliged  to  take  a  cir- 
cuitous route  to  escape  British  sentinels,  who  challenged  him  and  who  would  have  cap- 
tured a  less  alert  man.  In  spite  of  this  he  gained  a  great 
advance  over  the  attacking  force,  and  alarmed  the  country  to 
Lexington,  where  he  awakened  Adams  and  Hancock,  and 
was  joined  by  two  others  in  his  ride  toward  Concord. 
They  were  hardly  started  when  they  were  intercepted  by 
British  officers  and  Revere  and  Dawes  were  taken  prisoners, 


ISaviy 


New    England    Flag 


while  Dr.  Prescott,  the 
third  member  of  the  party, 
jumped  his  horse  over  a 
wall  and  escaped  to  carry 
the  alarm  the  remainder  of 
the  way. 

What  it  meant  to  the 
farmers  was  evident  when, 
early  in  the  morning,  the 
regulars  reached  Lexington 
and  found  the  minute-men 
drawn  up  on  the  green  to 
meet  them.  Compared 
with  the  British,  the  patriots 
were  few  and  were  poorly 
equipped  and  drilled,  but 
their  cause  was  righteous 
and  they  believed  in  it  in 
the  face  of  death.  They, 
therefore,  paid  no  heed  to 
the  demand  that  they  dis- 
perse, but  met  force  with  force  and  shed  the  first  blood  of  the  Revolution.  Eight 
Americans  were  killed  and  others  wounded,  and  the  British  then  continued  their 
march  to  Concord.  Their  commander,  Lieutenant- Colonel  Smith,  alarmed  by  the 
evidences  of  resistance  that  he  encountered,  had  sent  back  to  Boston  for  reinforce- 
ments, which  were  hastening  to  his  assistance. 

Their  mission  at  Concord  was  accomplished  ingloriously  to  the  extent  of  destroy- 
ing such  few  stores  and  guns  as  the  Americans  had  been  unable  to  secrete,  and  they 
were  about  to  return  when  they  discovered  the  minute-men  advancing  from  the  farther 
side  of  the  North  Bridge.  They  essayed  to  cut  off  the  approach  of  the  Americans 
by  removing  the  bridge,  but  were  too  late,  and,  being  obliged  to  retreat  or  fire,  chose 
the  latter,  and  were  answered  by  a  volley  which  drove  them  from  their  position.  This 
was  the  beginning  of  the  first  real  fight,  the  passage  at  Lexington  being  hardly  main- 
tained to  an  extent  to  justify  that  title.  The  farmers  withdrew  to  such  shelter  as  they 
could  find  and  awaited  further  movements  of  the  regulars,  who  started  about  noon 
for  their  return  to  Boston.  Their  march  was  the  signal  for  renewed  firing  by  the 
Americans,  who  followed  them,  and  from  the  shelter  of  stone  walls  and  trees  de- 
livered a  harassing  and  destructive  fire. 

Thoroughly  routed,  they  were  fast  being  reduced  when  they  were  met  by 
the  advancing  reinforcements,  one  thousand  men  under  Lord  Percy,  and  for  a  while 
they  rested  under  this  protection.  The  remainder  of  the  retreat,  even  with  the 
greatly  increased  force,  was  a  repetition  of  the  beginning,  and  when  they  finally 
arrived  in  Charlestown,  and  under  the  guns  of  the  British  ships,  they  were  in 
almost  a  panic. 

Thus  began  the  Revolution;  and  the  alarm  carried  by  Paul  Revere  was  extended 
in  all  directions  until  every  road  leading  to  Concord  was  filled  with  minute-men 
hastening  to  reinforce  their  compatriots.  They  remained  in  waiting  a  few  days, 


1775 


ConrorV 


but  no  further  attack  being  made  they  returned  to  their  homes  for  completer  organ- 
ization and  equipment.  They  realized  that  the  struggle  which  was  now  begun  meant 
systematic  operations  of  defense,  for  which  they  were  as  yet  unprepared,  and  an 
army  was  recruited  and  established  in  Cambridge  to  be  ready  for  such  action  as 
might  be  necessary. 

In  the  meantime  the  Massachusetts  delegation  to  the  second  Congress  had 
journeyed,  in  a  succession  of  ovations,  to  Philadelphia,  and  were  assured  of  the  approval 
and  support  of  the  intervening  colonies.  May  tenth,  the  day  this  Congress  opened, 
*775  was  signalized,  though  the  members  knew  not  of  it,  by  the  capture  of  Ticonderoga 
by  an  expedition  from  Connecticut  under  Colonel  Ethan  Allen,  and  a  large  quantity 
of  ammunition  and  ordnance  was  turned  over  to  the  army.  Events  were  moving 
rapidly  without  Congress,  but  it  was  essential  that  there  be  a  central  authority  to  out- 
line the  policy  to  be  pursued  and  provide  means  for  effecting  it.  Even  now  Con- 
gress distrusted  its  own  right  to  be,  and  repeated  its  supplications  to  George  III  to 
settle  without  further  bloodshed  the  differences  that  existed. 

These  entreatings  evidence  the  reluctance  of  the  delegates  to  forswear  their 
allegiance  to  England,  but  the  fact  that  they  nevertheless  took  such  measures  as  were 
possible  to  organize  and  equip  an  army  is  proof  also  of  their  steadiness  of  purpose  and 
desperate  belief  in  the  worthiness  of  their  cause. 

The  first  important  act  of  Congress  was  the  appoint- 
ment of  George  Washington,  one  of  the  delegates  from 
Virginia,   commander-in-chief  of  the    American    army, 
which  was  then,  to  the  number  of  upwards  of  fifteen  thou- 
/P00t0tl      ll  sand  men,  encamped  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston. 

This  army,  recruited  by    the    Provincial    Congress 
of  Massachusetts,  was  made  up  of  the  minute-men  who 
had  risen  on  the  alarm  of  Lexington,  but*  who  had,  in  the 
meantime,  returned  to  their  homes  for  reorganization,  and 
later  volunteers,  with  considerable  reinforcements  from 
neighboring  states,   notably    New  Hampshire  and  Con- 
necticut ;    and  under  the   leadership 
of  officers  whose  names  are  now  the 
foundations  of  Revolutionary  history, 
was  besieging  Boston  and  planning  to 
drive  out  the  British,   or  at  least  to 
prevent   them    from    increasing  their 
holdings. 

'775  ._\^  %:5£f2&3&.  While  Washington  was  preparing 

to  start  for  New  England,  events  in 
Boston  were  rapidly  shaping  them- 
selves for  the  active  operations  of  war. 
General  Gage,  the  British  commander, 
was  forced  to  take  measures  to 

maintain  his  position,  and  determined  to  forestall  the  Americans  in  the  occupation  of 
Charlestown,  across  the  river,  and  so  near  his  headquarters  that  he  was  liable  at  any 
time  to  be  subjected  to  a  harassing  fire.  His  plans  were  disturbed,  however,  by  the  dis- 
covery, on  the  morning  of  June  seventeenth,  of  fortifications  which  the  Americans  had 


Sccoufc   <£ongrr0s 


Bedford  | 


thrown  up  on  Bunker  Hill  in  one  short  night. 
It  had  become  known  to  the  American 
commanders  that  Gage  contemplated  moving 
on  the  eighteenth,  and  over  a  thousand  hardy 
and  intelligent  men,  under  skillful  direction, 
worked  with  pick  and  shovel  from  the  settling 
of  darkness  on  the  sixteenth  to  the  dawn  of 
the  seventeenth,  and  then,  with  slight  rein- 
forcements, awaited  the  attack  of  the  British. 
Prescott,  Warren,  Stark,  and  Knowlton 
were  among  the  American  commanders,  and 
by  their  personal  bravery  and  perseverance 
they  sustained  the  courage  of  their  men,  with 
the  result  that  the  British  attacking  force  of 
three  thousand,  with  all  its  perfect  equip- 
ment, was  twice  repulsed  with  fearful  loss, 
and  only  yielded  to  after  a  third  destructive 
charge,  and  when  the  last  round  of  their 
meagre  ammunition  was  exhausted.  Under  the  cover  of  a  protecting  fire  from  a  line 
of  auxiliary  defense,  a  part  of  the  original  plan,  the  Americans  retreated  and  left  the 
British  in  possession  of  one  of  the  most  dearly  bought  battle-fields  of  history.  The 
British  loss  was  enormous,  and  this  engagement  prevented  further  aggression  beyond 
the  limits  of  their  original  holding.  It  also  resulted  in  the  superseding  of  Gage  by 
General  Howe,  as  commander  of  all  the  British  forces.  The  news  of  this  battle 
reached  Washington  soon  after  he  had  left  Philadelphia,  and  aroused  in  him  con- 
fidence in  the  eventual  success  of  the  American  cause.  He  arrived  in  the  vicinity 
of  Boston  on  July  second,  and  on  the  third  took  command  of  the  troops  drawn  up  on 
Cambridge  common. 

This  army,  though  considerable  in  numbers  and  overflowing  with  patriotism,  was 
lacking  in  military  organization,  and  to  the  task  of  drilling  and  uniting  it,  and  also 
supplying  ammunition  and  further  equipment,  Washington  applied  himself  through  the 
summer  and  following  winter,  while  maintaining  a  close  siege  over  the  British  in 
Boston.  Early  in  March,  1776,  under  the  cover  of  a  bombardment  from  his  base 
of  operations,  Washington  secretly  marched  a  large  body  of  men  to  Dorchester 
Heights,  a  commanding  position  on  the  opposite  side  of  Boston,  and  one  of  ex- 
treme menace  to  the  British.  The  latter  awoke  on  the  morning  of  March  fifth,  to 
find  a  repetition  of  the  frowning  embankments  that  had  spurred  them  to  action  on 
Bunker  Hill,  this  time  on  the  landward  side  of  the  town,  though  separated  from  it 
by  a  small  bay. 

Realizing  the  seriousness  of  the  situation,  Howe  made  preparations  for  attack,  but 
unfavorable  weather  prevailed  for  a  day  or  two,  giving  the  Americans  opportunity  for 

strengthening  their  position,  and  after 
some  days  of  hesitation,  the  British 
evacuated  Boston,  sailing  away  on  March 
seventeenth,  and  carrying  with  them 
about  a  thousand  Tories,  whom  they 


Lexington 


JMMTYOISR  GR.crjjtrn) 

OONT  F, til  UNLESS. ttHlED  UPON" 
THEY   M£AN  Tb  HAVEM  WAR 


'775 


7i»m 


transported  with  their  goods  to  Halifax. 

l??6    WlU<^riaitr£PfV\l&C       New     England,    the    birthplace    of   the 

Revolution,  was  thus  saved  to  the  Ameri- 
cans, and  freed,  for  the  most  part,  from 
further  strife  in  the  barely  awakened 
cause. 

Washington,  from  time  of  taking  com- 
mand of  the  army,  was  the  centre  of  inter- 
est, and  the  course  of  the  Revolution  was 
chiefly  with  the  troops  under  his  personal 
direction  ;  but  it  is  necessary,  in  even  an 
outline  of  the  war,  to  note  certain  secon- 
dary expeditions  and  lesser  incidents  in 
progress  at  the  time  when  Washington 
was  encamped  before  Boston. 

Canada  was  recognized  from  the  first, 
by  the  American  leaders,  as  a  menace  to 
the  unity  of  the  colonies  by  reason  of 
the  possibilities  it  offered  as  a  base  for 
operations  through  the  valley  of  the  Hud- 

\  r- -ffi^—SSJ-^Biff-^^I^^JlS ~    son  to  .the  sea-coast,  which  would  isolate 

New  England  and  prevent  its  intercom- 
munication, either  offensive  or  defensive, 
with  other  sections.       To    obviate   this 
danger,  Washington  early  decided  to  at- 
tempt the  conquest  of  Canada,   and  organized  two    expeditions,   to  travel   different 
routes  and  meet  at  Quebec  for  a  joint  assault. 

One  under  Montgomery  passed  up  Lake  Champlain  and  captured  Montreal  and 
intervening  points.  The  other  under  Benedict  Arnold  embarked  at  Newburyport, 
and  then,  following  the  Kennebec  River,  and  through  the  wilderness  beyond,  reached 
Quebec  in  December,  1775,  a^"ter  a  journey  of  extraordinary  difficulty  and  hardship. 
Montgomery,  with  but  a  remnant  of  his  forces,  soon  arrived,  and  with  those  of  Arnold 
—  also  greatly  diminished  —  formed  an  attacking  body  of  but  little  over  a  thousand 
men,  to  assault  a  city  noted  for  its  strong  situation  and  elaborate  fortifications.  The 
attempt,  though  gallant  and  for  a  time  encouraging,  failed  with  the  death  of  Mont- 
gomery and  wounding  of  Arnold ;  and  although  held  besieged  by  the  latter  for 
the  rest  of  the  winter,  the  city  remained  in  the  possession  of  the  British,  and 
in  the  spring  the  Americans  were  forced,  by  the  approach  of  a  powerful  relief 
6  expedition  under  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  to  abandon  their  advantage  and  leave  Canada 
for  good  and  all. 

At  this  time  the  British  were  using  their  ships,  against  which  we  could  as  yet 
oppose  none,  to  harass  outlying  ports,  and  with  apparently  no  plan  other  than  the 
resulting  terror  and  apprehension  in  all  coast  towns.  Falmouth,  Maine,  now  Port- 
land, was  bombarded  and  then  burned  ;  and  the  British,  at  the  instigation  of  Lord 
77J  Dunmore,  Governor  of  the  Province,  attacked  Hampton,  Virginia,  and  later  Nor- 
folk. At  both  places  they  were  repulsed,  but  Norfolk  suffered  heavily  from  bombard- 
ment and  fire.  Patriotism  in  the  South  was  further  stimulated  by  an  attack  on 


n 


Charleston,  South  Carolina,  a  few  months  later.  A  large  fleet  under  Admiral  Parker, 
with  General  Clinton  for  military  commander,  was  organized  to  take  that  city 
and  subdue  the  surrounding  country  ;  news  of  this  plan  reached  South  Carolina,  and 
active  preparations  were  made  to  resist  the  invasion.  Troops  of  militia,  local  and 
from  neighboring  states,  occupied  all  available  positions,  and  a  fort  of  palmetto-wood 
was  erected  on  Sullivan's  Island  and  manned  by  five  hundred  men  under  Colonel 
Moultrie.  This  fort  was  the  chief  defense  of  the  city  and  was  relied  upon  to  with- 
stand the  brunt  of  the  attack,  although  it  was  by  some  considered  entirely  inadequate 
for  the  purpose. 

Early  in  June  the  British,  in  upwards  of  thirty  vessels,  arrived  at  the  entrance  to 
the  harbor,  but  with  characteristic  delay,  it  was  four  weeks  before  they  were  ready  to 
attack.  Clinton's  forces  were  rendered  ineffective  by  being  stupidly  disembarked  on  a 
sand-bar  from  which  they  expected  to  cross  to  Sullivan's  Island,  but  to  which  there  was 
no  practicable  ford.  Parker  opened  fire  on  Fort  Sullivan  with  six  ships,  and  after 
an  engagement  lasting  all  day,  was  obliged  to  withdraw  what  remained  of  his  fleet 
and  give  up  the  attempt.  It  was  a  most  notable  victory  for  American  courage  and 
perseverance  under  almost  overwhelming  odds,  and  it  raised  Colonel  Moultrie  to 
a  place  among  the  greatest  heroes  of  the  war.  An  incident  of  this  battle  was  the 
heroism  of  Sergeant  Jasper  in  replanting  on  the  bastion  the  colors  which  had  been 
shot  away. 

As  the  evacuation  of  Boston  had  practically  ended  the  war  in  New  England,  so 
the  defeat  at  Charleston  freed  the  South  from  further  molestation  for  some  years,  and 
removed  the  centre  of  strife  to  the  Middle  States,  where  less  determined  resistance 
was  to  be  feared.  Washington,  realizing  that  the  British  would  turn  to  New  York  as 
their  logical  base  of  operations,  removed  his  army  to  that  place  soon  after  the  taking 
of  Boston,  and  made  preparations  to  defend  the  city  as  well  as  his  inadequate  and 
poorly  equipped  army  might  be  able  to.  Congress,  which  had  mainly  directed  its 
efforts  to  additional  attempts  to  secure  peaceful  recognition  from  King  George,  had 
utterly  failed,  through  inability  or  inattention,  to  provide  for  the  increase  or  sustenance 
of  the  army,  and  was  at  any  time  liable  to  disruption  from  the  growing  differences  of 
delegates  as  to  the  policy  to  be  pursued.  There  was,  as  yet,  no  union,  and  therefore 
no  responsible  government  which  could  organize  internal  affairs  and  collect  funds. 
This  condition,  coupled  with  the  vanishing  of  hope  of  any  concession  from  the  King, 
who  had  declared  the  colonists  rebels  and  announced  his  determination  to  crush  them, 
emphasized  the  need  of  a  basis  for  a  permanent  government ;  and  after  some  hesitation 

on  the  part  of  representatives  of  a  few  states, 
it  was  voted,  on  the  second  of  July,  1776,  to 
announce  to  the  world  the  principles  for  which 
the  American  people  were  contending.  A  com- 
mittee, of  which  Thomas  Jefferson,  a  delegate 
from  Virginia,  recently  arrived,  was  chosen 
chairman,  was  appointed  to  formulate  the  declara- 
tion, the  writing  of  which  was  entrusted  to  Jef- 
ferson. The  result  of  his  labor  and  the  delib- 
erations of  the  committee,  was  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  laid  before  Congress  on  the  fourth 
of  July  and  unanimously  accepted. 

Massachusetts 


^ 


This  forceful  and  inspiring  document  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  civilized  world,  and  made  possible  the 
union  subsequently  effected.  It  has  maintained,  and  will 
ever  hold,  its  position  as  the  most  revered  and  precious 
relic  of  American  history  ;  and  it  is  one  of  the  evidences 
of  the  quality  of  mind  and  character  which  the  early 
patriots  brought  to  the  cause  of  liberty. 

From  Philadelphia,  where  the  people  awaited  breath- 
lessly the  peal  of  the  State  House  bell,  which  should 
"  Proclaim  Liberty  throughout  all  the  land,  to  all  the 
inhabitants  thereof";  through  New  York,  where  the 
message  was  read  to  the  troops  drawn  up  on  the  Common, 
and  was  boisterously  celebrated  by  the  populace,  which 
demonstrated  its  patriotism  by  tearing  from  the  pedestal 
on  Bowling  Green  an  equestrian  statue  of  George  III,  of 
gilded  lead,  that  from  glorifying  the  King  was  turned 
against  him  in  the  form  of  rebel  bullets;  to  Boston, 
where,  in  some  ways  it  meant  more  than  it  elsewhere 
could  —  the  acceptance  by  the  united  colonies  of  the 
cause  nurtured  on  Boston's  wrongs  —  the  country  hailed 
with  enthusiasm  this  brilliant  crystalization  by  its  ablest 
representatives,  in  solemn  congress  assembled,  of  the  sen- 
timents which  for  months  had  fired  individuals  every- 
where, but  had  lacked  the  official  approval  of  the  leaders. 
A  large  measure  of  this  unanimity  was  due  to  the  wide- 
spread appreciation  of  Paine' s  "Common-Sense,"  pub- 
lished the  previous  winter,  in  which  Thomas  Paine,  an 
Englishman  who  had  been  in  this  country  but  a  short 
time,  grasped  and  set  forth  in  convincing  style,  the  prin- 
ciples involved  in  the  struggle  with  the  mother  country, 
and  the  reasons  why  rebellion  was  just  and  right.  Paine 

showed  the  people  what  they  sought  and  needed  ;   Congress  declared  it  an  accom- 
plished fact  and  bestirred  in  its  defense. 

Meanwhile  the  cause  in  the  field  was  experiencing  misfortunes  and  disasters  cal- 
culated to  weaken  its  popularity,  and  was  only  saved  from  extermination  by  Wash- 
ington's ability  to  successively  extricate  his  army  from  seemingly  overwhelming 
situations.  He  had  established  himself  in  New  York  and  Brooklyn  with  the  ten 
thousand  troops  that  represented  all  that  was  available 
—  many  of  that  number  for  but  a  short  period  only  —  of 
the  army  brought  from  Boston,  and -endeavored  to  hold 
in  check  the  large  and  powerful  armies  under  Howe  and 
Clinton,  the  latter  having  reached  there  from  his  defeat 
at  Charleston,  supported  by  powerful  ships  of  war. 
His  detachments  on  Long  Island  under  Sullivan  and  Stir- 
ling were  badly  routed,  and  the  situation  there  was 
strongly  against  him,  when  Washington  brought  over 


c&tatitc    of 
Captain  i^atftan 
IIJ  a  I  e    6 


irclaratfott  of 
Kwtt  t  v  t  ti  ft  t  n 


New    Hampsh 


i  re 


Offtte,  f ct 


7776 


reinforcements  and  en- 
gaged in  preparing  for- 
tifications, as  though 
intending  a  continu- 
ance of  operations  ;  but 
the  next  morning,  Au- 
gust twenty-ninth, 
found  the  place  utterly 
deserted,  his  army  hav- 
ing been  ferried  across 
to  New  York  under 
cover  of  the  night  and 
a  beneficent  fog.  Colo- 
nel Glover's  Marblehead  fishermen  accomplished  this  feat  for  Washington,  and  the 
British,  who  surrounded  the  Americans  and  expected  an  easy  and  decisive  victory, 
were  doomed  to  disappointment.  They,  however,  knew  their  strength  and  Wash- 
ington's weakness,  and  assailed  him  on  all  sides  of  the  stand  taken  in  New  York, 
driving  him  in  a  few  days  to  Harlem  Heights.  Washington's  personal  bravery  as 
he  rode  among  his  panic-stricken  men  was  the  slender  thread  by  which  he  was 
enabled  to  finally  withdraw  his  troops. 

It  was  especially  desirable  at  this  time  that  some  knowledge  be  obtained  of  the 
intended  movements  of  the  British,  and  Washington  accepted  the  services  of  Captain 
Nathan  Hale  of  Connecticut,  who  volunteered  to  visit  the  enemy's  camp  as  a  spy. 
He  penetrated  the  British  lines  and  obtained  the  information  without  discovery,  but 
on  his  way  back  was  recognized  and  arrested  by  a  Tory  relative.  He  was  taken 
before  Howe  and  sentenced  to  death,  and  was  executed  September  twenty-second. 
Every  benefit  of  humanity  and  religion  was  denied  him,  yet  he  met  his  death  with 
high  courage,  and  his  last  words,  "  I  only  regret  that  I  have  but  one  life  to  give 
for  my  country,"  have' become  immortal. 

In  the  face  of  his  retreat,  Washington  sent  detachments  to  check  the  advance  of 
the  enemy's  outposts,  and  after  sharp  fighting  drove  them  back  to  the  main  lines. 
The  American  position  was  here  fairly  strong,  but  not  strong  enough  to  warrant 
Washington  in  risking  his  army ;  so  on  the  further  advance  of  the  British,  he  seized 
favorable  points  and  held  them  in  check  until  he  could  again  retreat,  this  time  to 
White  Plains,  on  the  bank  of  the  Bronx  River. 

Once  more  the  British  under  Howe  thought  to  crush  the  American  forces  and 
end  the  war,  and  once  more,  after  a  sharp  engagement,  the  Americans  succeeded  in  7776 

escaping  and  establishing  themselves  in  a  stronger 
position  at  North  Castle.  Forts  Washington  and 
Lee,  which  defended  the  Hudson  River  at  Harlem, 
were  left  garrisoned  with  the  expectation  of  their 
being  able  to  hold  the  position;  but  the  British 
having  obtained,  through  the  treachery  of  a  deserter 
from  Fort  Washington,  complete  information  as  to 
the  strength  and  arrangement  of  that  fortification, 
it  was  successfully  assaulted  on  November  sixteenth, 

Co  nnecticut 


Xattyan  ftalc 


1776 


and  two  thousand  men  taken  pris- 
oners. This  loss,  with  General 
Lee's  disobedience  in  withholding, 
on  the  other  side  of  the  Hudson, 
the  large  body  of  troops  under  his 
command,  left  Washington  in  a 
desperate  situation.  His  army  was 
reduced  through  these  causes,  and 
the  expiration  of  the  terms  of  enlist- 
ment of  many  of  the  militia,  to  the 
neighborhood  of  three  thousand 
men,  and  continual  discharges  and 
desertions,  with  the  failure  of  efforts 
to  secure  re-enlistments  or  fresh  re- 
cruits, threatened  to  leave  but  a 
fraction  of  that  number.  Fortu- 
nately at  this  time  General  Lee's 
troops  were  brought  in  by  General 
Sullivan,  the  former  having  been 
taken  prisoner  while  at  a  distance 
from  his  army. 

The  British,  holding  all  the 
important  points  captured,  contin- 
ued their  advance  to  Trenton  and 
occupied  that  place  preparatory  to 
marching  on  Philadelphia,  but  later 
abandoned  that  part  of  the  plan. 
The  fear  of  this  disaster  was  intense 
in  Philadelphia,  and  Congress  con- 
sidered it  necessary  to  adjourn  to  Baltimore,  after  vesting  the  entire  control  of  the 
war  in  Washington;  a  compliment  which  would  have  been  more  appreciated  had  it 
brought  greater  opportunities  instead  of  adding  to  the  perplexities  of  that  general. 
He  watched  the  enemy  from  a  safe  distance  while  exerting  himself  strenuously  to 
strengthen  his  army,  though  with  little  success.  The  misfortunes  which  made  the 
necessity  most  urgent  operated  against  his  efforts,  and  no  enthusiasm  could  be  aroused 
for  an  apparently  failing  cause.  Little  as  the  prospect  offered,  he  realized  that  some- 
thing must  be  done,  and  done  quickly,  or  the  new  year  would  find  him  almost  with- 
out men. 

Bold  as  the  plan  seemed  when  the  possibilities  were  considered,  Washington 
made  up  his  mind  to  attack  Trenton,  and  despatched  several  detachments  to  diverse 
points  to  ensure  the  surrounding  of  the  enemy.  Christmas  night  was  the  time  settled 
upon  for  the  assault,  and  Washington,  with  twenty-four  hundred  men,  arrived  at  the 
bank  of  the  Delaware  in  a  fierce  storm  of  snow  and  sleet,  to  find  the  river  swollen 
and  filled  with  swiftly-moving  ice.  To  a  lesser  man  the  difficulties  would  have  been 
insuperable,  as  they  appeared  to  his  aides,  to  whom  the  duty  was  intrusted  of  attacking 
from  other  points,  and  who  failed  to  cross.  To  Washington  it  meant  but  the  call 


wrvtrau 


NC 


NY! 


SC 


UNITE      OR     DIE 


1776 


for  greater  effort,  and, 
encouraged  by  his  ex- 
ample and  guided  by  the 
hardy  fishermen  of  Mar- 
blehead,  the  troops  were 
safely,  though  with  great 
difficulty,  transported  to 
the  Trenton  side,  where 
they  set  out  upon  an  ex- 
hausting march  to  the 
town,  regardless  of  the 
storm  and  the  pains  of 
travel  on  the  frozen 
ground.  Colonel  Rahl 

had  been  warned  that  Washington  was  planning  an  attack,  but,  as  usual,  affected  to 
despise  his  opponent,  and  the  twelve  hundred  Hessians  were  in  the  midst  of  a 
characteristic  Christmas  celebration  from  which  all  thought  of  the  enemy  was 
banished,  when  the  foot-sore  and  wearied  Americans  burst  upon  them.  Rahl's  men, 
thoroughly  panic-stricken,  offered  little  or  no  resistance,  and  in  attempting  to  rally 
them  their  commander  was  shot  down.  A  few  were  killed  and  some  escaped,  but 
about  one  thousand,  with  all  their  artillery  and  stores,  were  made  prisoners  and  taken 
in  triumph  to  Philadelphia. 

Washington  lost  no  time,  after  this  inspiring  victory,  in  following  up  the  advantage 
gained,  and  returning  with  fresh  troops,  re-occupied  Trenton.  Howe  felt  heavily  the 
loss  of  prestige  and  men  resulting  from  the  defeat  of  Christmas  night,  and  once  more 
determined  to  overwhelm  the  meagre  army  of  Washington  and  terminate  the  harassing 
rebellion.  To  this  end  Lord  Cornwallis,  with  seven  thousand  men,  set  out  from 
Princeton,  January  second.  They  were  met  on  the  road  by  detachments  of  Americans  *777 
sent  out  to  retard  their  movement,  and  slowly  driving  the  skirmishers  before  them, 
made  their  way  to  Trenton. 

The  main  body  of  the  American  army  was  entrenched  just  outside  the  town,  on 
the  further  bank  of  the  Assanpink,  and  here  the  British  prepared  to  attack.  An  at- 
tempt to  cross  the  bridge  was  repulsed,  and  Cornwallis  contented  himself  for  that  day 
with  cannonading  the  enemy  from  the  opposite  shore,  and  planning  to  assault  them  on 
the  following  morning  when  reinforced.  The  British  habit  of  delay  at  critical  junc- 
tures had  before  given  Washington  opportunity  to  extricate  his  army  from  dangerous 
situations,  and  he  took  advantage  of  it  on  this  occasion  to  abandon  his  position  on  the 
Assanpink  and  march  on  Princeton — where  Cornwallis  had  left  three  regiments  of  his 
army  —  from  whence  he  hoped  to  pass  to  Brunswick  and  capture  the  large  quantity  of 
British  stores  known  to  be  there.  With  his  usual  adroitness,  Washing- 
ton withdrew  undetected  by  the  army  on  the  opposite  bank,  which 
regarded  the  brightly  burning  camp-fires,  kindled  for  the  purpose,  as 
undoubted  evidence  of  the  continued  presence  of  the  Americans. 
Princeton  was  reached  early  on  the  morning  of  January  third,  and 

the  British  troops  were  encountered 
just  as    they    were  leaving  to   join 


General    Putnam^ 
Plough 


n 


<t>ia  jftfu 


3ft. 


Cornwallis.  A  battle  en- 
sued, which,  though  at 
times  apparently  in  favor 

'777  £&g£ ^l'~--l  -^.'^aSa  of  the  British  — owing  to 

the  inability  of  the  Ameri- 
cans, through  lack  of 
equipment,  to  meet  bay- 
onet charges — resulted 
finally  in  a  splendid  vic- 
tory for  Washington, 
whose  personal  valor  and 
encouragement  strength- 
ened his  men  and  turned 
the  balance  to  his  side. 
The  British  fled  to  Bruns- 
wick, but  the  day  was  so 
far  spent  that  Washington 
deemed  it  unwise  to  at- 
tack that  place,  and  after 
destroying  the  bridges  be- 
tween his  army  and  that 

of  Cornwallis,  withdrew  to  Somerset  Court  House,  and  thence  to  Morristown, 
where  he  went  into  winter  quarters.  Cornwallis,  discomfited  at  his  failure  at  Tren- 
ton and  the  defeat  of  his  troops  at  Princeton,  returned  to  Brunswick  to  protect  his 
magazines,  and  suspended  operations  for  the  winter. 

The  effect  of  these  victories  on  the  country  and  the  outside  world  was  to  raise  the 
American  cause  from  the  lowest  ebb  of  discouragement  to  enthusiastic  support  at  home 
and  increased  respect  abroad.  France,  though  yet  unwilling  to  openly  favor  this  coun- 
try, was  secretly  sending  supplies,  and  from  that  country  and  Germany  and  Prussia 
came  able  and  devoted  officers  to  assist  our  cause.  Recruiting  became  easier  and  re- 
'777  enlistments  frequent,  enabling  Washington  to  greatly  strengthen  his  army  and  prepare 
for  a  renewal  of  the  struggle  with  the  coming  of  spring. 

Events  moved  slowly  at  this  time,  a  condition  to  which  the  American  cause  in  the 
field  was  frequently  indebted,  and  yet  the  forces  at  work  were  making  for  results  soon 
to  place  the  struggle  for  independence  on  a  basis  of  international  recognition  and 
eventual  support.  After  declaring  independence,  Congress  had  dispatched  emissaries  to 
the  courts  of  Europe,  and  especially  to  France,  where  the  sympathy  of  progressive 
leaders  established  the  cause  in  substantial  favor.  Many  of  the  ablest  members  were 
thus  employed,  or  were  called  to  their  homes  to  direct  the  sustaining  operations  of  the 
war,  so  that  the  representation  left  was  appreciably  inferior  as 
a  whole,  and  of  little  real  assistance  as  an  executive  body.  It 
was  inadequate  to  the  task  of  supporting  the  army  or  of  adding 
materially  to  its  numbers,  and  its  financial  system,  lacking 
bassi  and  credit,  was  a  failure  from  the  start.  To  the  army 
it  commissioned  officers  in  many  cases  incompetent ;  and 
through  a  misunderstanding  of  facts,  or  unduly  influenced  by 

Rhode    Island 


astvitvgto  n*$ 


Interested  parties,  it  superseded  competent  generals  at  critical  times  and  placed  inferior 
men  in  command.  Lacking  official  support,  the  Revolution  was  sustained  by 
popular  contribution  through  the  state  leaders,  the  work  of  Robert  Morris,  of  Phila- 
delphia, being  especially  memorable,  and  of  inestimable  service  to  Washington  in 
his  efforts  to  hold  together  and  strengthen  his  army. 

Connecticut  bore  a  generous  share  in  equipping  and  sustaining  the  troops,  and  at 
this  time  suffered  locally  from  the  proximity  of  the  British  quartered  at  New  York. 
On  April  twenty-sixth,  1777,  Governor  Tryon  of  New  York,  with  two  thousand 
British  and  Tories,  attacked  and  burned  Danbury,  and  destroyed  a  large  quantity  of 
American  stores.  On  the  following  day  the  militia,  under  Generals  Wooster,  Arnold,  7777 
and  Silliman,  forced  Tryon  to  the  coast  after  an  engagement  at  Ridgefield,  and  the 
British  embarked  under  heavy  fire.  General  Wooster,  a  veteran  of  seventy  years, 
was  mortally  wounded.  A  month  later  the  Americans  under  Colonel  Meigs  retal- 
iated by  crossing  from  Connecticut  to  Sag  Harbor,  on  Long  Island,  where  they 
burned  twelve  British  vessels  and  destroyed  stores,  bringing  back  ninety  prisoners  with- 
out the  loss  of  a  man. 

Another  incident  illustrative  of  the  daring  and  adroitness  of  the  American  soldiers 
was  the  capture  of  General  Prescott,  commander  of  the  British  forces  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Rhode  Island,  whose  tyranny  had  excited  the  indignation  of  the  people.  On 
the  night  of  July  tenth,  Lieutenant  Barton  of  Providence,  with  forty  men,  stealthily 
approached  Prescott' s  headquarters  by  water,  and,  overpowering  the  sentinel, 
secured  Prescott,  who  was  in  bed,  and  escaped  before  the  alarm  spread  to  the  troops. 


in   <£ounrctfcut 


1777 


Congress  recog- 
nized this  act  by 
promoting  Barton 
to  the  rank  of  colo- 
nel and  presenting 
him  a  sword. 

Spring  brought 
a  renewal  of  activ- 
ity in  the  armies 
facing  each  other  in 
the  South,  and  in 
the  North  it  saw 
the  development  of 
a  plan  to  effect  the 
separation  of  New 
England  from  the 
other  states.  This 
had  long  been  rec- 
ognized as  an  im- 
pending possibility,  and  the  division  of  the  North  under  General  Schuyler,  though 
weak  in  numbers,  was  so  placed  as  to  offer  the  utmost  resistance  to  the  anticipated  move- 
ment. Lake  Champlain,  the  natural  path  of  such  invasion,  had,  the  previous  sum- 
mer, been  the  scene  of  a  strenuous,  if  not  mighty,  struggle  with  the  same  object,  when 

1776  Benedict  Arnold  had,  by  .dint  of  extraordinary  effort,  created  a  flotilla,  effectively  armed 
and  manned,  with  which  he  vigorously  contested  Sir   Guy  Carleton's  ascent  of  the 
lake  ;   and,  while  ultimately  forced  to  retreat,  so  delayed  and  crippled  the  enemy  that 
the  British  expedition  was  fruitless  for  that  season,  so  far  as  the  main  object  was  con- 
cerned.     The  ground  thus  gained  was  held,  and  served  Sir  John  Burgoyne,  the  suc- 
cessor of  Carleton,   to  launch  with  great  pomp  in  June,    1777,    an   army  of  eight 
thousand  men,  including  Indians —  now  for  the  first  time  employed  —  which  main- 
tained its  triumphant  progress  only  so  long  as  the  waters  of  the  lake  formed  the  line 
of  passage.     They  erected  fortifications  on  Mt.   Defiance,  near  Ticonderoga,  from 
which  commanding  position  they  were  able  to  throw  a  destructive  fire  into  the  fort ; 
and  General  St.  Clair,  who  occupied  the  post  with  somewhat  less  than  three  thou- 
sand ill-armed  troops,  abandoned  it  on  the  night  of  July  fifth,  and  undertook  to  join 
Schuyler  at  Fort  Edward.      The  British  started  after  him  and  several  times  engaged 
his  rear   guard,    but   at  the   end    of  a  week  the   Americans   succeeded  in   reaching 

1777  Schuyler,  though  with  the  loss  of  some  men  and  a  considerable  amount  of  baggage, 
captured  by  the  British  at  Skenesboro.      At  this  point  the  struggle  with  natural  con- 
ditions began,  which  offered,  difficult  as  it  was,  the  only  means  by  which  Burgoyne 
could  pass  to  Albany,  where  he  hoped  to  meet  forces  under  Howe,  which  were  to 
come  up  the  Hudson  and   thus   dominate  the   line  from  Canada  to  Long  Island. 
Schuyler,  realizing  the  overwhelming  force  of  the  invading  army,  fell  back  in  slow 
retreat,  destroying  the  only  road  as  he  passed,  burning  bridges  and  clogging  streams, 
besides  devastating  the  country  of  everything  that  could  be  utilized  to  sustain  an  army. 
Under  these  circumstances  Burgoyne' s  progress,  with  all  the  facilities  of  a  thoroughly 
equipped  army,  was  only  about  one  mile  a  day,  and  the  Americans  were  enabled  to 


keep  well  out  of  reach  until  reinforcements  and  a  favorable  situation  should  enable 
them  to  make  a  stand. 

A  strong  detachment  of  the  invaders,  under  St.  Leger,  had  been  sent  to  the  west- 
ward to  take  Fort  Stanwix,  held  by  General  Ganesvoort.  They  met  with  determined 
resistance,  and  vigorous  fighting  took  place  at  the  fort,  and  at  Oriskaney,  where  ^777 
General  Herkimer,  who  had  come  to  the  relief  of  Ganesvoort  with  a  large  following 
of  frontiersmen,  fell  into  an  ambush  of  the  enemy.  The  brave  general  was  mortally 
wounded  early  in  the  engagement,  but  with  great  fortitude  continued  to  direct  the 
battle  and  succeeded  in  routing  the  British,  who,  however,  continued  to  maintain  the 
siege.  After  some  weeks  ineffectually  spent,  they  were  frightened  into  a  precipitate 
retreat  by  news  of  the  approach  of  Arnold  with  reinforcements,  and  made  their  way 
to  Canada,  minus  everything  that  tended  to  impede  flight. 

Burgoyne,  experiencing  to  the  full  the  difficulties  imposed  by  Schuyler,  felt  the 
need  of  provisions,  and  detached  a  party  of  six  hundred,  under  Colonel  Baum,  to  raid 
the  country  in  what  is  now  Vermont,  and  capture  stores  held  at  Bennington.  This 
party  was  met  near  Bennington  by  the  farmers,  who  had  hastily  gathered  under 
General  Stark,  and  defeated  with  the  loss  of  their  baggage  and  artillery.  Another 
party  of  equal  numbers  which  had  been  sent  out  a  few  days  afterward  to  reinforce 
the  first,  came  up  a  few  hours  later  and  suffered  like  defeat.  More  than  half  the 
British  were  taken  prisoners,  and  upwards  of  two  hundred  killed,  leaving  but  a  third 
to  make  its  way  back  to  the  main  army.  These  misfortunes  were  rapidly  bringing 
Burgoyne  to  a  realization  of  the  doubtfulness  of  final  success,  which  success  would 
have  appeared  still  more  remote  could  he  have  known,  as  he  did  later,  that  Howe's 
orders  had  been  so  delayed  that  no  help  could  reach  him  from  that  quarter  in  season 
to  avail. 

The  American  victories  at  Oriskaney  and  Bennington  spread  confidence  through- 
out the  country,  and  troops  gathered  to  the  support  of  the  northern  army,  which 
Congress,  with  great  injustice  to  Schuyler,  now  placed  under  the  command  of 
General  Horatio  Gates,  a  soldier  much  inferior  to  the  former  in  ability  and  attain- 
ments. Gates  reaped  the  benefit  of  all  the  hard  work  done  by  Schuyler,  and  entered 
upon  his  command  under  most  favorable  conditions.  Burgoyne,  pressed  for  supplies 
and  threatened  in  his  rear  by  General  Lincoln — who  with  two  thousand  troops  was 
even  then  retaking  Ticonderoga — was  on  the  downward  slope  of  effectiveness,  while 
the  American  army  was  constantly  receiving  reinforcements,  —  among  which  were 
Morgan's  Virginia  riflemen  sent  by  Washington,  — and  with  Arnold  returned  from 
Fort  Stanwix,  was  daily  gaining  strength  and  courage,  and  numbered  about  three 
thousand  men  to  thirty-five  hundred  of  the  British.  Gates,  after  a  delay  of  several  /777 

weeks,  established  himself  at  Bemis  Heights, 
on .  the  west  bank  of  the  Hudson,  and  awaited 
the  enemy.  They  arrived  on  September  nine- 
teenth, and  on  the  following  day  attacked  the 
Americans  in  their  full  strength.  Gates  proved 
utterly  inefficient,  watching  the  battle  from  the 
rear  without  taking  part  in  it,  and  the  conduct 
of  the  fight  devolved  upon  the  regimental  com- 
manders, among  whom  Arnold  was  the  dom- 
inant figure.  The  battle  continued  until  dark- 


New    York 


Urnnfufltou 


'777 


'777 


©Id  Senate  ISou^e 


ness,  when  the  Ameri- 
cans drew  off  to  their  in- 
trenchments,  leaving  the 
British  in  possession  of 
their  ground,  but  suffer- 
ing from  a  severe  repulse, 
their  loss  being  double 
that  of  the  Continentals. 

This  was  the  begin- 
ning of  the  end  with  Bur- 
goyne.  On  October 
seventh  he  made  another 
attempt  to  break  the 
American  lines,  taking 
fifteen  hundred  of  his  best 
troops ;  but  his  columns 
were  stubbornly  met,  and 
finally,  with  Morgan,  Dearborn,  and  Arnold  leading,  the  Americans  routed  the 
British  and  drove  them  to  their  intrenched  camp,  where  the  fighting  was  continued 
until  stopped  by  darkness.  Arnold  was  on  the  field  without  authority,  he  having 
been  deprived  of  his  command  by  Gates,  but  was  unable  to  restrain  his  ardor,  and 
placed  himself  at  the  head  of  his  old  division,  which  he  inspired  to  brilliant  service ; 
he  was  badly  wounded  in  the  later  attack. 

The  British  were  now  in  a  desperate  situation;  beaten  and  hopeless  of  reinforce- 
ment they  sought  to  retreat  through  Saratoga,  but  found  themselves  surrounded  by 
the  gathering  Americans,  and  a  few  days  later  Burgoyne  gave  up  the  attempt  and 
opened  negotiations  for  surrender.  The  document  was  signed  October  sixteenth, 
and  by  it  an  army  of  nearly  six  thousand,  with  all  equipments,  was  turned  over  to 
Gates,  and  the  long-cherished  plan  to  control  the  line  from  Canada  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Hudson  came  finally  to  naught.  Clinton,  in  pursuance  of  belated  orders,  had 
started  to  Burgoyne' s  assistance,  but  his  enthusiasm  waned  after  capturing  Forts  Mont- 
gomery and  Clinton,  and  contenting  himself  with  sending  a  detachment  to  raid  King- 
ston, which  was  burned  October  thirteenth,  he  returned  to  New  York,  leaving  the 
North,  when  rid  of  Burgoyne,  in  undisputed  possession  of  the  Americans.  News  of 
this  triumph  was  of  inestimable  help  to  the  American  cause  in  Europe,  and  created  a 
prestige  that  made  possible  the  French  Alliance. 

Washington,  though  not  active  in  this  northern  campaign,  was  none  the  less  a 
factor  in  its  success,  as  his  watchfulness  and  employment  of  Howe  and  his  army  in 
the  Middle  South  was  largely  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  the  separation  of  the 
British  forces,  which  he  knew  to  be  essential  to  Ameri- 
victory  on  the  Hudson.  While  Burgoyne  was 


can 

embarking,  with  so  much  £clat,  his  ill-fated  expedition, 
Washington,  who  had  removed  from  his  winter 
quarters  at  Morristown,  New  Jersey,  to  Middlebrook, 
was  endeavoring  to  check  Howe's  advance  without 
hazarding  his  small  army  in  open  battle.  Howe, 
tiring  of  these  tactics,  returned  to  New  York,  where, 


a  x*  a  t  o  0  a 


New    Jersey 


r^3B9paaffigs2S-fc-'*i<!*^' 


to  ^udtV*  capture 
omu 


on  July  twenty-third,  he  embarked  eighteen  thousand  men  with  a  view  of  reaching 
Philadelphia  by  water.  Washington  discovered  his  motive  and  immediately  marched 
his  troops  to  that  place,  hoping  to  reassure  the  people  before  engaging  the  enemy. 
His  army  in  point  of  effectiveness  numbered  about  ten  thousand,  though  in  actual 
numbers  several  thousand  more,  and  among  his  officers  was  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette, 
a  young  French  nobleman,  who,  filled  with  sympathy  and  enthusiasm  for  the  cause 
of  the  colonies,  had,  in  spite  of  the  disapproval  of  his  king,  reached  this  country  with 
Baron  de  Kalb,  a  German  veteran,  and  was  by  Congress  commissioned  Major- 
General.  Lafayette  endeared  himself  to  Washington  and  to  the  army,  and  became, 
next  to  Washington,  one  of  the  most  prominent  figures  in  the  war. 

Howe,  rinding  the  Delaware  fortified  against  him,  entered  Chesapeake  Bay  and 
landed  his  army  at  Elkton,  Maryland,  about  fifty  miles  from  Philadelphia.  From 
this  point  he  marched  toward  the  city,  reaching  Chad's  Ford,  on  the  Brandy  wine  — 
where  the  Americans  were  encamped  —  September  eleventh.  The  resulting  battle 
was  disastrous  to  the  patriots,  and  although  well  planned  and  bravely  fought,  ended 
at  night  in  their  retreat  to  Chester,  and  later  to  the  neighborhood  of  Philadelphia. 
Count  Pulaski,  a  Polish  volunteer,  distinguished  himself  in  this  action  and  was  sub- 
sequently commissioned  Brigadier  General  by  Congress,  in  recognition  of  his  gal- 
lantry. . 

Washington,  though  defeated,  still  hoped  to  keep  the  British  from  Philadelphia, 
and  prepared  to  engage  them  again  near  Goshen,  but  was  prevented  by  a  severe 
storm,  and  was  then  forced  to  withdraw  to  Reading  to  protect  his  stores,  which  were 
threatened  by  the  enemy.  He  left  General  Wayne  with  fifteen  hundred  men  to 
check  the  advance  on  Philadelphia,  but  the  latter  was  surprised  by  a  midnight  attack 
and  driven  back  with  considerable  loss,  leaving  the  city  open  to  the  invaders,  who 


1777 


ft*  ertij 


entered  September  twenty-sixth. 
Fearing  this  result,  Congress  had 
removed,  some  days  before,  to  Lan- 
caster, from  which  a  few  days  later 

'777  ^Si&imiBMil)  it  moved  to  York,  where  it  remained 

during  the  British  occupancy  of  the 
capital. 

The  danger  to  Reading  having 
passed,  Washington  resolved  on  an- 
other attack,  and  with  two  thousand 
five  hundred  reinforcements  he  en- 
gaged the  British  troops  stationed  at 
Germantown,  near  Philadelphia; 
but  through  the  failure  of  militia  on 
which  he  relied,  the  effort  was  de- 
feated after  a  severe  struggle,  in 
which  the  American  loss  was  heavy. 
Forts  Mifflin  and  Mercer,  the  for- 
mer on  Mud  Island,  in  the  Dela- 
ware, and  the  latter  at  Red  Bank, 
New  Jersey,  were  still  held  by  the 
Americans,  who  had  established 
them  to  protect  Philadelphia  from 
naval  attack.  These  the  British  as- 
saulted with  the  aid  of  the  fleet  from  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  after  a  determined 
but  hopeless  resistance  the  Americans  were  forced  to  evacuate,  November  eighteenth, 
leaving  the  harbor  unobstructed  for  the  passage  of  British  ships.  To  close  a  season 
disastrous  in  its  immediate  results,  Washington,  early  in  December,  went  into  win- 
ter quarters  at  Valley  Forge,  on  the  Schuylkill,  and  struggled  to  maintain  the  organ- 
ization of  his  army  under  conditions  which  would  have  been  insurmountable  to 
another  general,  or  with  an  army  striving  for  a  lesser  end. 

The  cause  of  independence  experienced  its  darkest  days  in  that  memorable  camp. 
Thousands  of  men  were  unable  to  leave  the  rude  huts  they  had  built  for  shelter,  for 
J777  lack  of  clothing  to  cover  them;  they  were  reduced  to  the  barest  extremity  for  food, 
and  yet  their  patriotism  and  faith  in  their  commander  triumphed  over  these  miseries 
and  sustained  them  until  spring,  when  a  turn  of  fortune  brought  once  more  the  neces- 
saries of  life  and  comfortable  equipment.  During  the  long  winter,  Washington 
suffered  not  only  the  anguish  of  sympathy  for  his  starving  troops,  but  from  the  ma- 
chinations of  envious  and  disgruntled  subordinates,  and  the  criticism  of  some  of  the 
leaders  in  Congress.  It  was  hoped,  by  a  considerable  faction,  to  supersede  Wash- 
ington by  Gates  —  the  latter' s  victory  over  Bur-  . 
goyne  being  contrasted  with  Washington's  cam- 
paign about  Philadelphia  —  and  sufficient  support 
was  obtained  to  secure  control  of  the  Board  of 
War,  which,  with  Gates  at  the  head,  was  a 
source  of  annoyance  and  affront  to  Washington, 
while  it  utterly  failed  in  its  duties  of  providing  for 
the  army. 

D  el  a  w  are 


While  these  conditions  existed  at  the  seat  of  war,  forces  were  elsewhere  working 
for  speedy  and  permanent  improvement.  The  King  of  France,  overborne  by  his 
ministers,  had  signed  early  in  February  a  treaty  of  alliance  and  commerce,  acknowl- 
edging the  independence  of  the  American  Colonies.  This  meant  money  and  ships 
and  ready  supplies,  besides  establishing  the  United  States  on  a  recognized  footing  at 
the  capitals  of  Europe.  The  victory  at  Saratoga,  which  had  encouraged  France  to 
this  action,  had  startled  England  into  a  belated  concession  of  privileges,  which  a  peace 
commission  was  sent  over  to  propose;  but  the  time  for  such  measures  was  past  and 
they  were  rejected  by  Congress,  which  declared  that  no  proposals  would  be  enter- 
tained except  on  a  basis  of  complete  independence  and  the  withdrawal  of  British 
troops.  This,  of  course,  was  not  contemplated,  and  the  commission  ingloriously  re- 
turned. The  action  of  France  was  regarded  by  England  as  a  declaration  of  war,  and 
preparations  were  made  for  strengthening  the  situation  of  the  troops  in  America. 
General  Howe,  who,  it  was  realized,  had  done  nothing  more  than  seize  upon  com- 
fortable winter  quarters  for  his  army,  was  recalled  and  superseded  by  General 
Clinton.  Philadelphia  being  of  no  military  value  to  the  British  without  a  line  of 
communication  with  the  main  army  at  New  York,  it  was  decided  to  abandon  it  ere 
the  French  fleet  could  come  to  the  assistance  of  Washington's  army  and  force  the 
evacuation.  In  pursuance  of  these  orders  Clinton,  who  had  assumed  command  the 
latter  part  of  May,  so  hastened  preparations  that  on  June  eighteenth  he  left  the  city 
and  started  his  army  across  New  Jersey. 

Washington,  whose  patience  and  endurance  the  winter  had  so  severely  tried,  was 
now  well  equipped,  thanks  to  the  efforts  of  Greene,  who  in  March,  as  quartermaster - 
general,  succeeded  the  incompetent  Board  of  War  ;  the  spring  levies  had  filled  his 
ranks,  and  best  of  all,  his  army,  which  had  been  drilled  all  winter  by  Baron  Steuben 
—  a  distinguished  Prussian  officer  —  was  now  for  the  first  time  in  perfect  training. 
Under  such  gratifying  conditions  it  is  not  strange  that  Washington  wished  to  inter- 
cept Clinton  and 
match  his  strength  <5fC^i*f  ^?f"t 

Tl     •     •     1  -""       *^       ^          *  ^^ 

against  the  British ; 
but  a  council  of  his 
officers  by  their  dis- 
approval so  delayed 
him,  that,  though 
he  finally  overruled 
their  decision,  Clin- 
ton was  then  so  far 
advanced  that  to 
overtake  him  re- 
quired extraordin- 
ary effort,  and 
forced  the  troops  to 
a  fatiguing  march, 
which  at  the  last 
became  so  hurried 
that  many  threw 
away  their  knap- 


n 


Alliance 


sacks  in  their  desire  to  reach  the  enemy. 
The  British  were  advised  of  Washing- 
ton's approach,  and  though  numbering 
seventeen  thousand,  were  headed  for  the 
coast  by  the  most  direct  route,  their 
march  fast  becoming  flight  under  the 
vexations  of  climate  and  the  harassing 
attacks  of  the  New  Jersey  militia.  On 
the  twenty-sixth  of  June  they  encamped 
at  Monmouth  Court  House  with  Wash- 
ington but  a  few  miles  behind,  and  a  de- 
tachment under  Lee,  which  had  been  sent 
in  advance,  within  striking  distance.  The 
latter,  Washington  ordered  to  attack  as 
soon  as  the  enemy  should  resume  the 
march  in  the  morning,  promising  sup- 
port as  soon  as  he  could  come  up.  Lee, 
an  Englishman  who  had  been  a  source 
of  trouble  to  Washington  all  through  the 
war,  was  impressed  with  Clinton's  in- 
vincibility, and  fearing  to  engage  him, 
contented  himself  with  unimportant  man- 
oeuvers,  until  Clinton,  seeing  his  oppor- 
tunity, charged,  and  had  started  the 
Americans  in  retreat  when  Washington, 
whom  the  incredible  news  found  strain- 
ing every  nerve  to  reach  the  field  of  battle, 
galloped  on  the  scene,  and  overcome  with 
rage,  demanded  of  Lee  an  explanation  of 
his  course.  This  Lee  was  unable  to 
give,  and  ordering  him  to  the  rear,  where 
the  next  day  he  was  court-martialed  and 

suspended  from  his  command,  Washington  rallied  the  troops,  that  had  failed  wholly  from 
the  lack  of  efficient  ordering,  and  with  the  arrival  of  the  main  army  recovered  the 
ground  and  drove  the  British  in  retreat.  Under  the  cover  of  the  night  the  retreat  was 
kept  up,  and  Clinton  succeeded  in  reaching  the  coast  and  embarking  before  the  Ameri- 
*77&  cans  could  again  come  up  with  him.  His  army  was  reduced  by  two  thousand,  in  the 
march  and  battle,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  incompetence  of  Lee,  would  have  been 
utterly  destroyed.  As  it  was,  he  was  beaten,  and  the  campaign  which  Washington  had 
lost  at  Brandy  wine  and  Germantown,  was  redeemed  at  Monmouth.  An  incident  of  this 
battle  was  the  bravery  of  Molly  Pitcher,  the  wife  of  an  American  artilleryman. 
She  was  bringing  water  to  her  husband  when  she  saw  him  fall,  and  heard  an  order  for 
withdrawing  his  gun ;  determined  that  it  should  not  be  silenced,  she  took  his  place 
and  served  the  gun  throughout  the  fight.  In  recognition  of  her  patriotism  Washington 
appointed  her  a  sergeant  in  the  army,  where  she  became  widely  known  and  popular. 
During  the  summer  of  1778  the  war  made  little  progress,  so  far  as  the  main 
armies  were  concerned.  The  British  were  now  confined  to  New  York,  with  an  out- 


toljerc    fir£t 
tan    flag    to  a 


m  a  &  e 


post  at  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  and  evinced  little  inclination  for  aggressive  measures. 
Early  in  July  the  French  fleet,  under  Count  d'  Estaing,  appeared  off"  Sandy  Hook,  but 
owing  to  their  greater  draught  were  unable  to  approach  the  British  fleet.  In  lieu  of 
this,  a  plan  was  arranged  for  destroying,  in  conjunction  with  a  land  force,  the  British 
garrison  and  ships  at  Newport.  D' Estaing  arrived  there  with  his  fleet  August  eighth, 
and  his  presence  with  the  forces  under  Sullivan,  Greene,  and  Lafayette  caused 
the  British  to  destroy  their  men-of-war  and  other  vessels  in  the  harbor.  While 
preparations  for  the  attack  were  being  made,  a  British  squadron  appeared,  and  the 
French  went  outside  to  engage  it,  but  a  very  severe  storm  arose  and  scattered  the 
fleets,  injuring  the  vessels  so  that  the  British  were  forced  to  return  to  New  York,  and 
the  French  went  to  Boston,  to  refit.  Upon  this  the  land  forces,  which  also  suffered 
from  the  storm,  were  obliged  to  withdraw  without  accomplishing  their  purpose, 
though  a  sharp  engagement  took  place  between  four  thousand  reinforcements,  which 
Clinton  had  brought  from  New  York,  and  a  division  under  Green,  in  which  the 
British  were  repulsed.  Clinton  occupied  himself  in  ravaging  the  surrounding  country 
and  burning  shipping  at  New  Bedford,  returning  to  New  York  soon  afterward  and 
subsequently  abandoning  Newport. 

One  of  the  particularly  disturbing  features  of  the  summer  were  the  Indian 
raids,  made  at  the  instigation  of  British  agents  and  participated  in  by  many  Tories. 
Wyoming,  Pennsylvania,  and  Cherry  Valley,  New  York,  suffered  frightfully  in 
this  way,  hundreds  of  men,  women,  and  children  falling  victims  to  the  tomahawk, 
while  in  many  instances  the  torture  was  much  more  severe.  Further  west  the  British 
had  seized  old  French  trading  posts  and  garrisoned  them  with  regulars  and  Indians,  to 
ensure  the  unlimited  extension  of  British  territory  when  the  victory  should  be  won. 
They  also  sought  to  uproot  the  settlement  in  what  is  now  Kentucky,  but  were 
tenaciously  resisted  by  the  hardy  pioneers  under  the  lead  of  Boone,  Logan, 

Kenton,  and  other  intrepid  woodsmen. 

Among  these  was  one  who  realized  the 
value  of  the  outposts  that  the  British  had 
seized,  and  determined  that  the  vast  terri- 
tory dominated  by  them  should  be  held  by 
Americans.  Kaskaskia,  Vincennes,  and 
Cahokia,  in  the  Illinois  country,  were  the 

Pen nsy  Iv ani a 


1778 


C  t)  r  to    Jttansion   <£  r  v  tu  a  n  t  o  to  n   33,1. 

coveted  settlements,  and  George  Rogers  Clark,  a  native  of  Virginia,  the  far-seeing 
frontiersman  who  set  out  to  take  them  with  less  than  two  hundred  men,  raised  by  his 
personal  efforts  under  the  authority  of  Governor  Patrick  Henry  of  Virginia.  Over- 
coming all  obstacles,  they  reached  Kaskaskia  on  the  evening  of  July  fourth,  and  Clark 
by  skillful  manceuvers  took  the  garrison  completely  by  surprise,  and  overpowering  the 
guards,  compelled  the  surrender  of  forces  two  or  three  times  greater  in  number  than 
777<?  his  own.  Vincennes  and  Cahokia  followed  with  little  trouble,  but  the  difficulty  was 
to  hold  the  posts  with  his  small  following,  of  which  many  of  the  men  were  anxious 
to  return  to  their  homes.  At  this  time  the  British  arrived  with  a  strong  force  and 
retook  Vincennes,  but  owing  to  the  lateness  of  the  season  hesitated  about  attacking 
Kaskaskia,  held  by  Clark  with  the  main  body  of  his  command.  Neither  the  season 
nor  the  condition  of  the  country  had  any  terrors  for  Clark,  and  getting  together  one 
hundred  and  seventy  men  who  could  be  depended  upon,  they  started  for  Vincennes 
early  in  February,  undertaking  fearlessly  a  journey  of  over  two  hundred  miles,  in  which 
they  experienced  hardships  of  every  kind,  including  hunger,  and  a  march  through  miles 
of  icy  water,  waist  high,  but,  in  spite  of  these,  arrived  at  their  destination  on  the 
twenty-second  of  the  month,  and  after  a  short  fight  forced  the  fort  to  again  surrender. 

The  importance  of  this  exploit  was  far-reaching,  as  it  not  only  secured  to  the 
United  States  vast  territory  in  the  West,  but  it  broke,  from  that  time,  the  alliance 
with  the  Indians,  which  the  British  had  created  with  difficulty,  and  upon  which  they 
largely  depended. 

The  British,  from  their  only  stronghold,  New  York,  kept  up  their  devastating 
raids  on  the  surrounding  country,  descending  early  in  September  on  Buzzards  Bay, 
where  they  destroyed  shipping  and  privateers  to  the  number  of  seventy  sail,  continu- 


ing  through  New  Bedford  and  Fairhaven  the  pillage  and  destruction,  and  finally  re- 
turning to  New  York  with  a  large  number  of  cattle  and  sheep  captured  at  Martha's 
Vineyard.  On  the  thirtieth  of  the  same  month  they  sailed  to  Little  Egg  Harbor, 
New  Jersey,  where  they  captured  a  considerable  quantity  of  American  stores. 

This  employment  of  his  army,  while  perhaps  a  degree  more  creditable  than  ab- 
solute inaction,  would  never  win  for  Clinton  the  control  of  America;  and  having  1778 
tried  and  failed  in  successive  attempts  to  hold  the  Northern  and  Middle  States,  the 
British  turned  again  to  the  South,  as  offering  the  only  remaining  opportunity  for  lasting 
victory.  Driven  out  of  Boston,  defeated  and  destroyed  on  the  Hudson,  balked  at 
Philadelphia,  and  menaced  at  New  York,  they  with  some  reasonableness  hoped,  by 
gaining  a  foothold  in  a  thinly  populated  country,  where  loyalism  was  undoubtedly 
stronger,  to  extend  operations  on  a  permanent  basis  until  they  could  unite  with  the 
Northern  forces.  The  South,  unmolested  since  Clinton  and  Parker's  inglorious  at- 
tack on  Charleston,  was  unprepared  for  resistance  and  was  divided  by  party  differ- 
ences that  under  the  strain  of  war  developed  into  serious  civil  conflict. 

To  this  promising  field,  then,  Clinton  turned  his  attention,  with  immediate  results 
that  seemed  to  fully  justify  his  deductions,  and  warranted  confidence  in  the  success  of 
his  ultimate  plan.  A  partially  successful  raid  under  General  Provost  came  out  of 
Florida  and  pillaged  the  coast  towns  of  Georgia,  but  the  first  important  move  was 
against  Savannah.  On  the  twenty-ninth  of  December,  Colonel  Campbell  landed 
with  an  army  of  three  thousand  and  attacked  the  city,  which  was  defended  by  Gen- 
eral Robert  Howe  with  less  than  a  thousand  men,  and  those  without  experience  in 
action.  The  British  were  easily  victorious,  and  completely  scattered  the  opposing 
force,  taking  some  five  hundred  prisoners  and  capturing  valuable  stores.  Following 
this,  Provost  returned  and  captured  Sunbury,  which  had  repulsed  his  first  raid,  and 
Campbell  with  a  division  of  his  troops  advanced  successfully  on  Augusta.  Thus 
Georgia,  the  last  to  renounce  the  royal  authority,  was  the  first  to  again  feel  its  yoke, 
the  British  being  now  in  virtual  possession  of  the  State. 

General  Benjamin  Lincoln  was  sent  by  Congress  to  command   the   Southern  de- 
partment, but  met  with  little  success.      He   succeeded  in   raising   a  small   army,  but     '779 
attempting  prematurely  to  recover  Augusta  and  Savannah,  his  force  was  seriously   re- 
duced   without  the   attainment  of  his  object,  and  he  was  obliged  to  retire  to  the  hills 


at    I  an  ir 


JCtjr  ZflEft&f   in   ttjr 


with  but  a  handful  of  men,  leaving  the  British  in  full  possession  of  Georgia.  The 
direct  results  of  his  campaign  were  the  gallant  repulse  of  the  British  at  Fort  Royal  by 
General  Moultrie,  the  defeat  and  dispersal  at  Kettle  Creek  of  a  band  of  seven  hun- 
dred Tories  under  Colonel  Boyd,  who  was  shot  in  the  engagement,  and  the  preser- 
J779  vation  of  Charleston,  which  Provost  had  set  out  to  attack,  but  from  which  he  was 
compelled  by  Lincoln's  advance  to  withdraw. 

Encouraged  by  their  progress  in   the   South,    the   British  resumed   with    greater 
boldness  their  periodic  raids  in  the  North.      Under  Sir  George  Collier  and  General 


.3  r  u  o  I  tr 


i  a 


Matthews  they  entered  Hampton  Roads,  May  ninth,  ravaging  Norfolk  and  Ports- 
mouth, and  then  sailed  for  New  York,  where  they  assisted  Clinton  in  capturing  the 
unfinished  fortifications  at  Stony  Point,  by  which  the  Americans  had  hoped  to  control 
King's  Ferry.  An  expedition  had  been  sent  against  West  Greenwich,  Connecticut, 
the  previous  March,  which  is  memorable  chiefly  on  account  of  General  Putnam's 
bold  escape  from  what  seemed  certain  capture.  He  had  rallied  a  company  to  oppose 
•the  British,  who  were  on  their  way  to  destroy  the  salt-works  at  Horse  Neck,  but 
was  unable  to  offer  effective  resistance  to  the  fifteen  hundred  invaders,  and  his  men 
were  soon  dispersed.  Putnam  sought  to  reach  Stamford,  but  was  pursued  by  the 
British,  who  were  fast  gaining  on  him,  when  he  turned  his  horse  over  the  edge  of  a 
steep,  rocky  bluff  and  rode  safely  to  the  bottom,  leaving  his  astonished  pursuers 


Central  39utnam'0 


daunted  and  baffled  at  the  top.  An- 
other expedition,  under  Governor 

Tryon,  left  New  York  for  Connecticut         „ ^JtfMP^^^^^^?MHfc^  '779 

early  in  July,  and  sailing  along  the  coast 
plundered  New  Haven,  East  Haven, 
Fairfield  and  Norwalk,  which  latter 
place  was  also  burned. 

These  measures  were  met  by  the 
Americans  with  movements  against 
Stony  Point  and  Verplank's  Point,  and 
later  against  the  British  garrison  at 
Paulus  Hook.  These  were  not  wholly 
retaliatory,  as  Washington  feared  from 
the  capture  of  Stony  Point  the  exten- 
sion of  British  occupation  through  a 
series  of  such  posts,  which  would  ac- 
complish all  that  was  striven  for  in  Bur- 
goyne's  campaign,  and  cut  off  his  army 
and  the  Southern  states  from  the  recruits 
and  supplies  so  generously  furnished  by 
New  England.  He  therefore  deter- 
mined to  retake  the  fort  at  once,  and 
entrusted  the  work  to  General  Wayne, 
one  of  his  most  intrepid  aids.  General 
Wayne  with  a  few  hundred  men  reached 
the  precipitous  slopes  in  the  rear  of  the 
fort  on  the  evening  of  July  sixteenth, 
and  in  a  dashing  assault,  upon  which  the 
heavy  fire  of  the  garrison  made  no  im- 
pression, they  mounted  the  breast-works  and  compelled  a  speedy  surrender.  Nearly 
five  hundred  prisoners  were  taken,  and  guns  and  munitions  of  great  value  captured. 
After  training  the  guns  of  the  fort  on  Verplank's  Point,  opposite,  and  compelling 
its  evacuation,  the  Americans  leveled  the  works  and  returned  to  the  main  army. 
Their  achievement  is  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  most  brilliant  of  the  war. 

Paulus  Hook,  now  the  site  of  a  part  of  Jersey  City,  was  one  of  the  strongest 
natural  positions  held  by  the  British;   nearly  surrounded  by  water,  it  was  approach-    Z779 
able  only  by  the  post  road,  of  which  it  originally  formed  the  terminus  and  landing 
place  of  the  ferry  from  New  York.      Major  Harry  Lee  undertook  the  capture,  and 

surprised  it  early  on  the  morning  of  August  nine- 
teenth. The  British  had  little  time  for  resistance 
before  they  were  overpowered  by  the  attacking 
party,  which  secured  upwards  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  prisoners  —  a  number  greater  than  that 
of  the  Americans  —  and  quickly  withdrew,  lest 
the  alarm  spread  to  the  main  body  of  the  enemy 
and  retreat  be  cut  off. 

Another  undertaking,  though  carefully  planned 

Maryland 


2D  o  o  r  to  a  p 
a  u  £  e   3H 


I^artuooti 


and  fitted  out  at  great 
expense,  met  with  dis- 

'770       ^fiaSWT'^i-V  &r         m  .      ,,     '**&&      aster  and  utterly  failed. 

This  was  the  expedition 
against  the  British  post 
at  Castine,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Penobscot 
River,  organized  in 
Massachusetts,  in  which 
thirty-seven  vessels  were 
engaged,  and  had  en- 
tered the  river,  when, 
on  August  thirteenth, 
they  were  hemmed  in 

O   It   TV  t  39    C   V  TV    0    TV        by  a  British  fleet  of  su- 

perior force  which  sud- 
denly appeared.  The  Americans,  rather  than  see  their  ships  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
British,  beached  and  burned  them,  making  their  way  back  to  Boston  overland. 

The  American  navy,  from  the  poverty  of  national  resources  an  inconsiderable 
power  heretofore,  received  at  this  time  a  memorable  accession  in  the  fleet  under  John 
Paul  Jones,  fitted  out  at  L' Orient,  France,  by  the  American  and  French  govern- 
ments. Jones,  by  birth  a  Scotchman,  had  already  shown  high  ability  in  the  service 
of  America,  and  when,  after  many  tedious  disappointments,  he  found  himself  in 
command  of  an  effective  if  not  powerful  fleet,  he  lost  no  time  in  making  his  presence 
felt  among  the  shipping  of  Great  Britain.  He  intercepted  and  captured  many 
merchant  vessels,  in  some  cases  boldly  entering  harbors  to  destroy  them,  and  spread 
terror  of  his  name  throughout  the  British  Isles.  These  exploits,  while  of  importance 
in  a  scheme  of  warfare,  were  far  from  sufficient  to  the  aggressive  character  of  Jones, 
and  he  eagerly  sought  an  encounter  with  armed  vessels,  though  the  conditions  might 
apparently  be  against  him.  Such  an  opportunity  came  to  him  off  Flamborough  Head, 
September  twenty-third,  when  he  overtook  two  British  ships  of  war,  the  Serapis  and 
Countess  of  Scarborough,  convoying  a  large  fleet  of  merchantmen.  Jones  com- 
manded the  Bonhomme  Richard,  his  flagship,  and  had  with  him  but  two  other 
7779  vessels  of  his  squadron,  the  Alliance  and  Pallas,  the  others  having  been  lost  sight 
of  in  a  gale.  The  British  ships  were  greatly  superior  in  size  and  armament,  the 
Serapis  being  the  larger,  and  a  much  newer  and  stouter  vessel  than  the  Bonhomme 
Richard,  with  which  she  engaged.  The  Countess  of  Scarborough  soon  struck  to  her 
opponents,  the  Alliance  and  Pallas,  and  the  three  remained  in  a  group  apart,  leaving 
the  two  larger  vessels  to  struggle  for  mastery.  The 
battle  that  ensued  is  renowned  in  history  as  an  example 
of  the  triumph  of  personal  invincibility  in  the  face  of 
apparent  ruin. 

The  Bonhomme   Richard   and  the  Serapis  fought  at 

close  range  until  both  were  badly  battered  and  pierced,  «|jfw  ifr  W\ 

and  then,  grappled  together,  the  guns  of  each  touching 
the  other' s  side,  they  continued  their  fearful  work  of  car- 
nage and  destruction.  On  several  occasions  the  Richard 


(Kotntnoaotc 
JJaul 


Washington' s 
Coat   of  Arms 


r  n  o  tx 


was  reported  to  be 
sinking,  but  by  ex- 
traordinary effort 
was  kept  afloat, 
and  at  last  Pear- 
son, the  captain 
of  the  Serapis, 
yielded  to  his  an- 
tagonist at  a  mo- 
ment when,  as  far 
as  material  evi- 
dence was  credi- 
ble, the  vie  tor y 
might  well  have 
been  his  own. 
The  Alliance, 
which  should  have 
helped  the  Rich- 
ard, remained 

aloof  during  the  greater  part  of  the  engagement,  and  when  at  last  she  came  up, 
nearly  ruined  Jones's  chance  by  firing  broadsides  which  swept  the  deck  of  the  Richard. 
This  action  was  excused  on  the  ground  of  mistaken  identity,  but  Landais'  jealousy 
of  Jones  and  his  restiveness  under  the  latter' s  superior  authority,  give  color  to  a  pre- 
sumption of  traitorous  intent,  and  he  was  soon  afterwards  dismissed  from  the  navy. 
The  prizes  were  taken  to  Holland,  and  Jones,  after  a  short  stay  in  Paris,  where  his 
achievement  was  enthusiastically  honored,  returned  to  America,  and  received  the 
thanks  of  Congress  for  his  eminent  services. 

While  Jones  was  receiving  his  vessels  from  France,  the  French  fleet  under  D'  Es- 
taing,  which  had  been  cruising  in  West  Indian  waters,  suddenly  returned  to  the 
coast  and  captured  four  British  men-of-war  at  Savannah.  The  French  commander 
resolved  to  follow  up  this  victory  by  recovering  the  town,  and  sought  the  help  of  the 
militia  in  the  undertaking.  Several  weeks  elapsed  before  the  South  Carolinians  with 
Lincoln,  who  came  to  their  aid,  could  complete  an  effective  organization,  and  in  this 
time  the  British  had  received  reinforcements  and  erected  formidable  defences.  D'Es- 
taing,  chafing  under  the  delay,  demanded  an  immediate  attack,  and  on  October  ninth,' 
the  allies  gallantly  assaulted  the  works  and  succeeded  in  planting  the  flags  of  America 
and  France  on  the  ramparts,  but  they  could  not  maintain  their  position,  and  finally 
were  repulsed  with  great  loss.  The  brave  Pulaski  was  killed  in  this  action,  as  was 
Sergeant  Jasper,  the  hero  of  Fort  Moultrie  ;  and  Count  d'Estaing,  who  led  his  troops 
in  person,  was  severely  wounded.  The  French  fleet  put  to  sea,  and  Lincoln,  with 
about  two  thousand  men,  withdrew  to  Charleston,  where  the  people,  desirous  of  pro- 
tection, urged  them  to  remain. 

The  British,  encouraged  by  their  victory,  appeared  off  the  coast  of  Georgia  early 
in  1780  with  a  fleet  under  Admiral  Arbuthnot,  bringing  Clinton  and  eight  thousand 
men,  who  were  placed  in  commanding  positions  about  Charleston,  where  they  were 
joined  by  Cornwallis  with  troops  to  the  number  of  three  thousand.  General 
Lincoln,  who  had  remained  in  the  city,  had  been  reinforced  by  a  considerable  body 


'779 


afc  an  n  al) 


32 


JT  o  o  I    3 
o  ttti  t 


a  tt 


of  Virginia  veterans,  but  his  forces  could 
offer  no  effective  ^resistance  to  an  army 
numbering  four  to  his  one.  Aided  by 
the  fleet,  which  ran  Fort  Moultrie 
without  difficulty,  the  British  instituted 
an  aggressive  siege  which  resulted  in  the 
capitulation  of  the  city  on  May  twelfth  ; 
General  Lincoln  and  all  his  men  were 
taken  prisoners. 

With  the  loss  of  the  last  remnant  of 
Lincoln's  army,  organized  defense  was 
obliterated  in  the  South.  The  British 
spread  over  and  devastated  South  Caro- 
lina as  they  did  before  in  Georgia, 
plundering  all  not  avowedly  loyal,  and 
committing  outrages  calculated  to  embit- 
ter the  patriots  and  strengthen  them  in 
their  later  resistance. 

A  detachment  of  two  thousand  men 
under  DeKalb  had  been  sent  South  to 
augment  the  forces  there,  and  this  was 
now  utilized  as  a  nucleus  of  a  new  army. 
As  many  more  were  soon  added  by 
enlistment  and  the  accession  of  isolated 

bands,  and  Gates,  in  whom  Congress  had  great  confidence,  based  on  a  misconception 
of  his  part  in  the  capture  of  Burgoyne,  was  sent,  against  the  judgment  of  Washington, 
to  take  command.  Under  conservative  leadership  this  army  would  have  grown  and 
developed  into  an  effective  force,  but  without  waiting  for  these  processes,  and  appar- 
ently without  consideration  of  its  weakness,  Gates  led  it  to  Camden,  then  an  import- 
ant center  for  the  British.  The  despair  resulting  from  the  loss  of  Savannah  and 
Charleston  had  been  broken  by  minor  though  brilliant  successes  at  Fishing  Creek  and 
Hanging  Rock,  and  the  patriots  rallying  under  Marion,  Sumter,  and  Pickens  were 
harassing  the  British  with  a  partisan  warfare  destructive  of  their  sense  of  security, 
though  lacking  in  effective  organization.  These  leaders  joined  forces  with  Gates ; 
but  they  added  nothing  to  the  strength  of  the  attack  on  Camden,  as  both  Marion 
and  Sumter  were  detached  for  special  operations,  the  latter  taking  four  hundred  of 
the  best  troops  in  addition  to  his  own. 

The  British  under  Lord  Rawdon,  knowing  of  Gates'  advance,  set  out  to  intercept 
and  surprise  him,  and  on  August  sixteenth,  the  armies  came  suddenly  together,  neither 
being  aware  of  the  proximity  of  the  other.  A  battle 
was  immediately  ordered,  and  a  line  of  militia,  ^  never 
before  under  fire,  was  marched  in  the  first  charge 
against  the  perfectly  drilled  regulars  of  the  British. 
The  natural  result  was,  that  the  Americans,  frightened 
by  the  solid  fire  of  the  enemy,  broke  and  fled,  leaving 
to  DeKalb  and  his  Continentals  the  whole  burden  of 
resistance.  The  latter  fought  with  remarkable  couf- 

Vir  gini  a 


in  ttje  Sotttf) 


ISntranct 
Jttottnt 


n 


age,  but  they  were  hope- 
lessly outnumbered,  and, 
after  losing  eight  hundred 
men,  including  DeKalb, 
were  obliged  to  retreat 
and  save  themselves  as 
best  they  could.  Sum- 
ter's  detachment,  which 
had  captured  the  British 
wagon  train,  was  over- 
taken by  Tarleton  and 
routed  with  the  loss  of  half 
its  men,  killed  or  captured. 
The  re-formed  southern 
army,  barely  started  in  its 
mission,  was  thus  effec- 
tually scattered,  and  once 
more  the  British  were  free 
to  extend  their  lines  and 
prosecute  their  plan  of 
northward  conquest. 

This  immunity  was  of  short  duration,  however,  the  rigorous  measures  adopted  by 
Cornwallis  quickly  bearing  fruit  in  an  uprising  fatal  to  British  supremacy.  Wishing 
to  free  himself  from  the  annoyance  of  local  attacks,  Cornwallis  sent  a  division  under 
Colonel  Ferguson  to  range  the  western  borders  of  the  Carolinas  and  intimidate  the 
inhabitants.  The  threats  of  the  invaders  roused  the  mountaineers,  who  had  hitherto 
contented  themselves  with  repressing  Indian  aggression,  and  gathering  under  favorite 
leaders,  they  assembled  on  the  Watuga,  late  in  September,  to  the  number  of  nearly 
twelve  hundred.  They  chose  Colonel  Campbell  —  leader  of  the  Virginians  —  chief 
commander,  and  under  his  direction  were  more  closely  united  and  instructed  in 
methods  of  attack.  They  were  later  joined  by  upwards  of  three  hundred  from  North 
Carolina,  and  started  to  crush  the  detachment  under  Ferguson.  The  British  com- 
mander had  word  of  their  coming,  and  undertook  to  elude  them  ;  but  being  unsuc- 
cessful in  this,  took  up  a  strong  position  on  Kings'  Mountain  and  awaited  the  con- 
flict. To  shorten  the  pursuit  the  backwoodsmen  had  divided  their  force,  the  pick  of 
men  and  horses  to  the  number  of  seven  hundred  entering  on  a  forced  march,  leaving 
the  rest  to  come  up  as  they  could.  Riding  night  and  day  in  their  impatience  to  at- 
tain their  object,  the  Americans  arrived  in  the  vicinity  of  the  British  camp  on  the 
morning  of  October  seventh,  and  immediately  arranged  the  attack.  The  British  had 
more  men,  and  a  strong  position  on  the  top  of  a  wooded  hill  ;  but  every  man  in  the 
attacking  force  was  a  trained  Indian  fighter  and  thoroughly  at  home  in  such  a  situ- 
ation. They  charged  from  opposite  sides  of  the  hill,  and  a  repulse  on  one  side  was 
immediately  followed  by  an  assault  on  the  other,  thus  keeping  the  British  in  constant 
motion,  and  gradually  reducing  the  intervening  space,  until  arriving  at  the  top  they 
surrounded  and  overpowered  the  enemy,  forcing  unconditional  surrender.  Ferguson 
and  fully  one-third  of  his  men  were  killed,  and  the  victors  secured  a  large  store  of 
arms  and  ammunition,  the  lack  of  which  was  everywhere  a  serious  hindrance  to  the 
struggling  patriots. 


Jftountufn 


The  tide  of  war  thus  ebbing  and  flowing,  rose  perceptibly  for  the  Americans  from 
this  time,  the  people,  encouraged  by  the  destruction  of  the  merciless  foe  that  dom- 
inated the  frontier,  rising  in  scattered  bands  to  pick  off  isolated  British  posts  and  even 
driving  the  main  army  to  seek  security  nearer  the  sea-coast.  Marion  and  Sumter  ap- 
peared in  unexpected  quarters,  cutting  off  supplies  and  routing  loyalist  militia,  leading 
Tarleton  hither  and  thither  in  futile  attempts  to  reach  them.  He  finally  came  up 
with  Sumter  at  Blackstocks  and  was  severely  repulsed.  The  British,  once  more  on 
1780  the  defensive,  were  checked  in  their  northward  march,  and  all  that  was  needed  to 
permanently  cripple  them  was  an  organized  army  to  which  the  roving  bands  could 
rally.  This  Congress  undertook,  for  the  third  time,  to  supply  ;  but  depleted  ranks 
and  bankrupt  finances  were  conditions  not  lightly  subjected,  and  Greene,  whom 
Washington  was  privileged  to  appoint  to  this  command,  could  obtain  but  little  in 
material  equipment,  either  of  men  or  outfittings,  and  was  obliged  to  depend  on  ap- 
peals to  the  Southern  States,  backed  by  recommendations  of  the  central  government. 
In  some  aspects  Greene's  expedition  was  in  the  nature  of  a  forlorn  hope.  Two 
armies  had  been  sacrificed  in  the  same  cause,  exhausting  the  resources  of  the  northern 
division,  which  could  now  spare  but  a  mere  body-guard  to  the  departing  general. 
Disaffection  was  rife  in  the  Continental  army  on  account  of  the  worthlessness  of  the 
currency  with  which  it  was  paid,  and  enlistments  were  correspondingly  difficult  to 
obtain.  In  the  face  of  this  discouraging  outlook  Greene  went  resolutely  to  his  task, 
rousing  the  country  as  he  traveled  through  it  and  importuning  the  governors  for  aid 
of  any  kind.  His  energetic  measures  brought  him  some  immediate  assistance,  and 
more  followed  as  he  journeyed  South,  leaving  a  train  of  activity  where  apathy  had 


<Br*n*r*l 


Soutfj 


before  prevailed.  He  reached  Charlotte,  North  Carolina,  December  second,  and 
relieved  Gates,  who  had  since  his  defeat  at  Camden  gathered  the  available  militia  of 
the  state  to  the  number  of  two  thousand,  to  replace  his  lost  army.  These  troops 
were  raw  and  undisciplined,  but  with  Steuben  and  Lee,  whom  Congress  had  assign- 
ed to  the  Southern  department,  Greene  set  about  the  work  of  fitting  them  for  service, 
while  they  also  formed  a  nucleus  for  gathering  recruits. 

In  appointing  Greene  to  the  command  of  the  Southern  division,  Washington  had 
deprived  his  army  of  a  strong  general,  but  he  was  content  in  the  knowledge  of  the 
special  fitness  of  Greene  for  the  duty  to  which  he  was  assigned.  His  notable  service 
as  quartermaster-general  after  the  failure  of  the  Bo.ard  of  War,  and  his  eminent  abil- 
ity in  the  field,  were  considerations  that  impelled  Washington  to  urge  his  appoint- 
ment to  this  post  after  the  destruction  of  Lincoln's  army  at  Charleston;  but  Congress, 
enamoured  of  Gates,  chose  the  latter.  In  the  interval  since  that  time  the  contrast  of 
ability  in  the  two  men  had  become 
apparent  even  to  Congress.  While 
Gates  hurried  to  destruction  in  the 
South,  Greene  gained  fresh  honors  in 
New  Jersey,  where  he  checked  Clin- 
ton's advance  at  Springfield  and  sent 
him  in  retreat  to  Staten  Island. 

Incursions  of  this  character  were 
the  extent  of  British  activity  in  the 
North  during  the  spring  and  summer 
of  1780.  Washington  had  moved 
into  New  Jersey  and  driven  out  Knyp- 
hausen,  whose  force  was  greatly  su- 
perior, before  Clinton  arrived  from 
Charleston ;  and  while  the  latter  was 
engaged  in  his  abortive  raid,  the  Ameri- 
can commander  defended  his  position 
on  the  Hudson.  His  army,  impover- 
ished and  reduced  in  numbers  through 
the  incapacity  of  Congress,  was  re- 
inforced by  the  arrival  at  Newport, 
Rhode  Island,  July  tenth,  of  a  power- 
ful French  fleet  under  Admiral  Ternay, 
bringing  Count  de  Rochambeau  with 
six  thousand  soldiers.  The  strength 
of  the  allied  forces  was  thus  sufficient 
to  imperil  the  British  at  New  York, 
and  their  outlying  posts  were  finally 
abandoned  for  the  better  protection  of 
the  larger  interests. 

At  the  British  headquarters,  and 
in  the  heart  of  the  American  councils, 
events  were  making  for  one  of  the 
saddest  burdens  that  Washington,  in 


1780 


1780 


.JT 


of  jFtttuf) 


all  the  misfortunes  of  the  Revolution,  was  called  upon  to  bear.  Benedict  Arnold,  whose 
name  is  now  identified  with  treachery,  was  at  that  time  one  of  the  most  valiant  officers 
in  the  patriot  army.  Impetuous  and  ardent,  he  was  ever  at  the  forefront  of  action,  and 
his  self-ignoring  courage  inspired  those  about  him  to  victorious  effort  in  the  face  of 
impending  disaster.  He  had  led  a  starving  army  through  the  northern  wilderness  to 

Z775    Quebec,  his  energetic  struggle  for  the  control  of  Lake  Champlain  had  delayed  by  a 

7776  year  the  British  advance  to  the  Hudson  and  operated  for  its  final  defeat,  and  his  re- 
surgent valor  at  Saratoga  turned  the  tide  of  battle  in  favor  of  his  cause.  The  elements 
of  character  that  contributed  to  these  worthy  ends  were  equally  potent  in  self-seeking 

^777  baseness,  when  the  high  impulse  of  .patriotism  had  given  place  to  one  of  personal  gain 
and  revenge.  The  wound  received  by  Arnold  in  the  charge  at  Saratoga  incapacitated 
him,  temporarily,  for  active  service,  and  when  sufficiently  recovered  he  was  put  in 

777^<  command  of  Philadelphia,  which  the  British  had  then  recently  evacuated.  Here  he 
married  the  daughter  of  a  Tory,  and  formed  associations  that  opened  the  way  for 
later  operations.  Life  at  the  capital  developed  the  weaknesses  of  his  nature,  and  he 
became  involved  in  difficulties  that  brought  him  successively  before  a  committee  of 

'779  Congress  and  a  court-martial  ;  the  former  exonerated  him,  but  the  latter,  though 
acquitting  him  of  the  charges  preferred,  qualified  the  verdict  by  directing  Washington 
to  administer  a  formal  reprimand.  The  harshness  of  this  measure  was  greatly  miti- 


arter* 


sirnolir 


gated  by  the  implied  praise  which 
Washington,  who  admired  Arnold 
and  believed  him  wronged,  incor- 
porated in  the  rebuke ;  but  to 
Arnold  it  was  no  less  a  rebuke, 
and  it  weighed  in  turning  him  from 
a  life  of  honor  to  one  of  ignominy. 
Smarting  under  his  wrong,  real 
or  fancied,  and  looking  to  the  possi- 
bilities of  personal  emolument,  he 
opened  cautious  communication 
with  the  British,  who  saw  in  this 
an  opportunity  of  acquiring  by 
treachery  what  they  could  not  take 
by  force  of  arms.  The  American 
fort  at  West  Point,  on  the  Hudson, 
was  coveted,  and  Arnold  set  out  to 
obtain  the  post  of  commandant  that 
he  might  work  its  ruin,  for  which 
he  was  to  receive  a  large  money 
consideration  and  a  commission  as 
brigadier-general  in  the  British 
army.  Though  Washington  had 
other  plans  for  Arnold's  employ- 
ment, such  was  his  regard  for  the 
man,  that  he  deferred  to  the  lat- 


of 
Cucftaijoe 


anfc 


ter' s  wishes,  and  the  first  requirement  of  the  plot  was  effected.  From  possession  it 
was  but  a  step  to  .delivery;  but  that  step  was  carelessly  executed  by  Major  Andre, 
the  British  emissary  sent  to  meet  Arnold  and  arrange  the  details,  and  while  on  his 
way  back  to  the  Vulture,  a  sloop-of-war  which  had  brought  him  up  the  river,  he 
was  captured  at  Tarrytown  and  the  full  import  of  his  mission  discovered.  John 
Paulding,  David  Williams  and  Isaac  Van  Wart,  the  vigilant  rangers  who  seized 
Andr6,  took  him,  in  spite  of  liberal  offers  for  liberty,  to  the  American  headquarters 
at  Northcastle ;  and  a  few  days  later  he  was  hanged  at  Tappan,  after  having  confessed 
to  being  a  spy,  and  notwithstanding  strenuous  efforts  on  the  part  of  Clinton  to  save 
his  officer's  life.  Through  a  blunder  of  the  officers  to  whom  Andre  was  delivered, 
Arnold  was  notified  of  the  failure  of  his  conspiracy  and  succeeded  in  escaping  to 
the  British  on  the  day,  September  twenty-fifth,  that  the  surrender  was  to  have 
taken  place. 

To  Washington,  who  arrived  unexpectedly  at  West  Point  on  the  morning  of 
Arnold's  flight,  the  moral  disappointment  was  particularly  severe.  Arnold  was  a 
valuable  officer,  but  the  gap  which  he  left  could,  in  a  way,  be  filled.  The  real 
calamity  was  the  shaken  confidence  in  human  integrity  engendered  by  the  perfidy  of 
one  so  highly  esteemed,  and  who  owed  so  much  to  the  kindly  consideration  of  his 
superior.  It  opened  unconsidered  possibilities  of  defeat,  and  such  was  the  improba- 
bility in  Arnold's  case  that  no  limit  could  be  set  to  unwelcome  suspicion.  Happily 
no  further  cause  for  such  existed,  and  the  treason  of  Arnold  remains  the  one  blot  on 
the  record  of  patriotism. 


t  o  ti  e  t 


In  the  North  the  year  1780  closed  as  it  had  passed,  without  important  aggression 
by  either  side.  To  Washington,  in  his  quarters  in  New  Jersey,  the  outlook  was 
cheerless  in  the  extreme.  All  the  old  familiar  besetments  of  failing  men  and  scant 
supplies  harassed  him  with  stubborn  persistence.  As  an  executive  body  Congress 
•  was  a  failure,  and  Washington's  strenuous  entreaties  were  received  with  indifference 
and  apathy.  The  lack  of  funds  was  the  most  serious  difficulty,  and  after  its  own 
conspicuous  failure  in  this  field,  Congress,  with  unusual  discernment,  shifted  the 
burden  to  an  individual  of  large  means  and  earnest  patriotism,  by  appointing  Robert 
Morris,  of  Philadelphia,  to  be  Superintendent  of  Finances.  In  the  early  days  of  the 
war,  Morris  had  answered  Washington's  appeal  with  fifty  thousand  dollars  raised  on 
his  personal  credit,  and,  though  the  task  was  one  that  few  men  would  have  cared  to 
undertake  and  fewer  still  have  succeeded  in,  he  now  applied  his  ripe  business  ability 
to  the  problem,  and  with  the  cooperation  of  Gouverneur  Morris,  of  New  York, 
established  a  bank  and  raised  the  credit  of  the  government  on  the  strength  of  his  own 
acceptance  of  the  trust.  The  money  thus  available  was  of  immense  assistance  to 
Washington,  enabling  him  to  recoup  his  army  at  a  most  critical  time,  when,  as  later 
developments  proved,  unreadiness  would  have  been  fatal. 

Benedict  Arnold,  with  his  commission  from  King  George,  had  been  sent  to  ravage 

i-j8i    Virginia,  and  with  Cornwallis  and  Tarleton  in  the   Carolinas,  the  importance  of  the 

British  strength  in  the  South  was  clearly  apparent  to  the  American  commander.      He 

dispatched  Lafayette  with  twelve  hundred  men  to  meet  Arnold,  who  was  burning  and 


lioferrt 


pillaging  with  the  energy  that  had  been  characteristic  of  his  worthy  efforts.  Early 
in  March,  Lafayette  reached  Annapolis,  at  which  place  he  was  to  join  the  French 
fleet  which  had  been  sent  from  Newport  to  convoy  him  to  Portsmouth,  where 
Arnold  was  entrenched.  The  plan  was  frustrated  by  the  appearance  of  a  British 
fleet  under  Arbuthnot  near  the  entrance  to  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  as  a  result  of  the 
ensuing  action  the  French  were  obliged  to  return  to  Rhode  Island,  leaving  Lafayette  17%* 
without  the  means  of  reaching  Arnold.  Clinton,  though  yet  with  no  plan  beyond 
disconnected  raids,  sent  General  Phillips  with  two  thousand  men  to  join  Arnold, 
whom  the  former  was  to  relieve  of  command.  His  mission  thus  rendered  hopeless, 
Lafayette  was  ordered  to  join  Greene,  who  was  beginning  to  make  his  presence  felt 
in  the  farther  South. 

One  of  the  typical  figures  of  the  war  was  Daniel  Morgan  of  Virginia.  Born  to 
humble  station,  he  served  as  private  in  the  early  Indian  wars,  and  at  the  outbreak  of 
the  Revolution  raised  a  regiment  of  Virginia  riflemen  and  hurried  to  the  front. 
His  men  formed  an  important  part  of  the  expedition  to  Quebec  and  were  prominent 
in  many  later  actions,  notably  at  Saratoga,  where  they  won  the  praise  of  the  enemy. 
Morgan  had  not  received  the  recognition  his  achievements  merited  and  had  with- 
drawn to  his  Virginia  plantation,  when  Gates' s  defeat  at  Camden  revealed  the  desper- 
ate situation  of  the  cause  in  the  South.  Repressing  personal  considerations,  he  made 
haste  to  join  Gates,  and  soon  received  from  Congress  a  commission  as  brigadier-general. 
He  was  engaged  in  organizing  his  troops  when  Greene  arrived,  and  with  the  approval 
of  the  latter  he  moved  to  the  westward,  and  gathering  the  militia,  stopped  the  ravages 
of  loyalists  in  that  section.  Cornwallis 
watched  with  apprehension  Morgan's 
growing  power,  and  sent  Tarleton,  with 
his  light  infantry,  to  check  his  operations. 
Morgan  retreated  before  him  until  he 
reached  a  favorable  position  at  Cowpens 
—  on  the  boundary  between  North  and 
South  Carolina  —  where  he  established 
himself,  and  instructing  and  encouraging 
his  men,  he  waited  in  battle  order  for  the 
British  to  come  up.  They  arrived  on 
the  seventeenth  of  January  and  dashed 
upon  the  Americans  with  an  impetuosity 
calculated  to  break  the  ranks  of  the  lat- 
ter; but  they  were  prepared  for  this  and 
met  the  assault  boldly,  changing  forma- 
tion to  bring  fresh  troops  to  the  front, 
and  then  by  a  partial  retreat  led  the  British 
forward,  enabling  a  division  under  Colo- 
nel Washington  to  attack  them  in  the 
rear.  Met  by  fire  before  and  behind, 
the  enemy  soon  succumbed  in  uncondi- 
tional surrender.  Tarleton  himself  es- 
caped^ but  upwards  of  six  hundred  of 
his  men  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Ameri- 


1781 


at 


1781 


t 


cans,  with  all  the  arms 
and  baggage  of  the  com- 
mand. Morgan's  victory 
was  a  brilliant  one,  his 
force  being  inferior  to 
that  of  his  adversary,  and 
was  largely  the  result  of 
clear  judgment  and  care- 
ful planning,  backed  by 
experienced  troops. 

Although  Tarleton's 
command  was  destroyed, 
it  was  dangerous  for  Mor- 
gan to  remain  within 
reach  of  Cornwallis,  who 
was  sure  to  retaliate  for 
the  loss  of  his  favorite 
regiment;  and  as  soon  as 
the  battle  was  over  a  rapid 
retreat  was  begun,  which, 
before  the  next  morning,  had  carried  the  Americans  well  beyond  the  Broad 
River.  Events  proved  the  wisdom  of  this  course,  and  the  advantage  thus  gained 
barely  sufficed  to  save  them  from  the  pursuing  army,  which  was  lightened  by  burning 
its  heavy  baggage,  that  the  chase  might  be  unimpeded.  Greene  also  realized  the 
importance  of  outwitting  Cornwallis,  and  on  learning  of  the  victory  started  at  once 
to  join  Morgan,  at  the  same  time  sending  messengers  ahead  to  gather  boats  at  all  the 
rivers  on  the  line  of  march,  that  everything  might  be  in  readiness  when  the  troops 
arrived.  Without  this  foresight  all  the  strenuous  efforts  of  Morgan  would  have  come 
to  naught,  as  successively  at  the  Catawba  and  the  Yadkin  the  Americans  had  only 
the  river  between  them  and  their  pursuers. 

Greene's  army,  following  close  upon  its  general,  joined  Morgan's  division  at 
Guilford,  the  ninth  of  February,  and  together  they  continued  the  flight  to  the  Dan, 
where  Kosciuszko,  sent  ahead  by  Greene,  was  preparing  defences.  The  British 
were  so  close  behind  that  it  was  only  by  employing  a  rear  guard  to  engage  them  in 
skirmishes  that  the  Americans  succeeded  in  crossing  the  river  ;  when  this  was  safely 
accomplished  the  skirmishing  party  followed  rapidly,  leaving  the  enemy  baffled  at  the 
bank.  The  British  had  no  boats,  and  as  it  was  out  of  the  question  to  ford  under 
the  fire  of  the  Americans,  they  withdrew  and  gave  up  the  chase. 

Greene  soon  returned  to  the  country  south  of  the  Dan,  and  for  some  weeks  har- 
rassed  Cornwallis  by  raids  on  outlying  divisions,  and  by  intercepting  his  recruits  and 
supplies.  Every  attempt  to  reach  the  Americans  was  frustrated  by  a  rapid  change  of 
position,  and  after  seriously  fatiguing  his  army  to  no  purpose,  Cornwallis  withdrew 
to  rest  his  men  and  seek  recruits.  This  gave  Greene  a  like  opportunity,  and  the 
militia,  for  which  his  aides  had  scoured  the  neighboring  states  while  the  British  were 
being  held  in  check,  began  to  arrive  in  appreciable  force.  When  sufficiently  strength- 
ened, Greene,  who  saw  the  necessity  of  a  battle  which  should  cripple  his  adversary, 
even  though  himself  obliged  to  retreat,  marched  to  Guilford  Court  House,  which  he 


had  selected  as  an  advantageous  position.  The  next  day,  March  fifteenth,  the  British 
accepted  the  challenge  and  boldly  opened  the  attack.  Greene's  forces,  which  number- 
ed somewhat  over  four  thousand,  were  largely  untrained  militia,  and  at  the  first 
charge  of  the  enemy,  the  firing  line,  thus  constituted,  broke  and  fled  without  offering 
any  effective  resistance.  The  Continentals,  who  were  next  behind,  fought  with 
steady  regularity  and  twice  repulsed  the  British,  who  only  saved  the  day  by  the  reck- 
less use  of  artillery  fired  through  their  own  ranks.  Greene  withdrew  in  good  order, 
but  minus  a  large  part  of  the  militia,  which  failed  to  return  after  the  first  rout. 

Cornwallis,  who  lost  in  the  neighborhood  of  six  hundred  men,  took  up  his  march  to 
Wilmington  to  refit  before  coming  northward.        Greene  immediately  followed  him, 
although  defeated  and  with  his  force  reduced  by  desertion  —  his  loss  in  battle  being  less  1781 
than  a  third  that  of  the  British;  but  he  was  compelled  by  the  continued  desertion  of 
militia  to  abandon  the  pursuit  at  the  Deep  River  when  almost  up  with  the  enemy. 

With  the  British  forces  divided,  as  they  were  by  Cornwallis's  expedition  to  Virginia, 
it  became  necessary  for  Greene  to  choose  between  following  the  former  to  the  North, 
and  the  alternative  of  moving  against  Lord  Rawdon,  who  held  Camden  and  a  chain 
of  fortified  posts  in  South  Carolina.  He  chose  the  latter  plan,  and  quickly  with- 
drawing from  the  vicinity  of  Cornwallis,  that  the  latter  might  not  detect  his  purpose  in 
time  to  obstruct  his  movement,  he  marched  for  Camden,  April  second,  and  arrived  that 
night  at  Hobkirk's  Hill,  within  a  short  distance  of  the  enemy's  works.  Rawdon,  think- 
ing to  surprise  Greene,  whom  he  knew  to  be  as  yet  without  artillery,  led  an  attack  early 
on  the  morning  of  April 
seventh,  and  succeeded 
in  dislodging  the  Ameri- 
cans. Greene  was  sur- 
prised, but  not  unpre- 
pared, as  he  had  camped 
his  army  in  battle  form  to 
guard  against  this  possi- 
bility. The  struggle  was 
sharp,  and  for  some  time 
the  advantage  appeared 
to  be  with  the  Ameri- 
cans, but  at  a  critical 
moment  one  of  those 
unnecessary  weakenings, 
which  had  turned  the 
scale  against  them  on 
many  other  occasions, 
broke  the  formation,  and 
seeing  the  inevitable  re- 
sult, Greene  withdrew 
his  men  while  yet  pos- 
sible to  do  so  without 
sacrifice. 

Reinforcements 
reached   Rawdon  a  few 


42 


1781 


weeks  later,  in  spite  of  Lee  and  Marion,  who,  at  the  first  inception  of  the  plan,  had 
been  sent  to  cut  off*  his  supplies.  With  this  added  force,  Rawdon  started  out  early 
in  May  to  reach,  by  a  detour,  a  position  in  Greene's  rear,  which  he  hoped  to  find 
unguarded.  The  sagacious  general  was  not  to  be  caught  in  such  a  simple  manner, 
however,  and  changed  his  position  for  one  so  strong  that  the  British  feared  to  attack. 
Unable  to  dislodge  Greene,  and  threatened  by  the  latter'  s  outlying  divisions,  which 
had  already  taken  Fort  Watson,  one  of  his  important  posts,  Rawdon  abandoned 
Camden,  May  tenth,  and  moved  to  the  sea-coast.  On  his  way  he  hoped  to 
strengthen  the  garrison  at  Fort  Motte,  but  he  was  too  late,  and  arrived  May  twelfth, 
just  in  time  to  witness  its  surrender.  Sumter  had  taken  Orangeburg  the  day  before, 
and  Neilson's  Ferry  and  Fort  Granby  fell  within  a  few  days.  Lee  and  Pickens 
with  their  divisions  entered  Georgia  and  captured  Fort  Galphin,  May  twenty-first, 
reaching  Augusta,  their  objective  point,  a  few  hours  later.  Here  they  met  deter- 
mined resistance.  The  two  forts,  Grierson  and  Cornwallis,  were  besieged,  and 
the  former,  which  was  the  weaker,  was  soon  taken  by  Pickens,  enabling  him  to  go 
to  the  assistance  of  Lee,  whose  operations  had  so  far  had  little  effect  on  the  strong 
garrison  of  Fort  Cornwallis,  which  fought  gallantly  and  held  out  with  stubborn 
tenacity.  The  Americans  were  no  less  determined,  however,  and  gradually  weak- 
ening the  defense  by  daily  engagements,  they  finally  assaulted  the  fort  on  June  fifth, 
and  forced  its  surrender. 

One  of  the  strongest  British  posts  in  the  South,  and  after  the  fall  of  Augusta  the 
only  one  in  that  section  remaining  in  their  control,  was  Ninety-Six,  Georgia.  To 
this  Greene  directed  his  attention  after  recuperating  his  army,  and  opened  systematic 


jFattninfltont    &l) av'l o ttea fo t II* 
Stttnur,  He*  an*  tftcfccus 


Designed    by 
Thomas    J  e  f f  e  r  s  o  n 


tt  s*  t 

Designed    by     Sir     Christopher     Wren 


Ta* 


siege  operations,  which,  with  the  help  of  Lee,  who  had  joined  him  after  the  victory 
of  Augusta,  had  reduced  the  strong  garrison  to  a  point  where  surrender  could  not  be 
long  delayed,  when  the  Americans  received  word  of  the  approach  of  Lord  Rawdon, 
who  had  again  left  the  seaboard  to  come  to  the  relief  of  the  besieged  post.  Greene, 
who  was  too  weak-  to  cope  with  such  a  force,  reluctantly  withdrew  and  led  Rawdon 
a  futile  chase  from  point  to  point,  until  the  latter,  unable  to  disperse  the  Americans, 
and  fearing  to  remain  in  the  position  he  had  come  so  far  to  sustain,  withdrew  from 
Ninety-Six,  taking  the  garrison  and  loyalists,  and  returned  finally  to  the  coast. 
Thus  the  purpose  of  Greene's  campaign,  apparently  frustrated,  was  accomplished  by 
the  force  of  conditions  his  earlier  work  had  created. 

Detachments  of  the  American  troops  followed  the  retreating  British  to  the  out- 
skirts of  Charleston,  harassing  them  and  preventing  scattered  raids  and  pillage.  They 
also,  as  a  result  of  engagements  with  outlying  commands,  captured  upwards  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  prisoners,  among  whom  were  a  number  of  officers. 

Lord  Rawdon  embarked  for  England  early  in  July,  and  his  successor,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Stewart,  undertook  to  reoccupy  the  country  from  which  Rawdon  had  been 
driven.  He  started,  late  in  August,  with  between  two  and  three  thousand  men,  and 
camped  on  the  Santee  near  Fort  Motte.  Greene,  who  was  encamped  in  the  neigh- 
boring hills,  had  rested  and  strengthened  his  army,  and  he  set  out  on  receipt  of  in- 


for m a t i o n  of 
Stewart's  move- 
ments, to  inter- 
cept the  latter 
and  at  the  same 
time  to  assail  his 
communications 
by  detachments 
in  his  rear.  This 
plan  was  so  suc- 
cessful that  the 
British  were 
obliged  to  with- 
draw to  Eutaw 
Springs,  some 
twenty  miles 
down  the  river. 
Here  they  se- 
lected a  strong 

position  and  awaited  the  Americans,  who  reached  that  vicinity  September  seventh,  but 
were  undiscovered  until  the  morning  of  the  eighth,  a  short  time  before  they  were  ready 
to  attack.  The  armies  were  evenly  matched,  and  although  the  Americans  pressed 
steadily  forward  and  easily  destroyed  the  enemy's  outer  lines,  the  resistance  was  able  and 
determined,  and  for  a  while  seemed  sufficient  to  hold  the  ground.  At  this  point 
Greene's  superior  tactics  prevailed,  and  the  Continentals,  being  formed  in  to  replace 
the  exhausted  militia,  which  had  so  far  borne  bravely  the  brunt  of  the  battle,  charged 
*7Sl  the  British  before  they  had  time  to  recover  from  the  fire  of  the  militia,  and  pene- 
trating their  line,  drove  them  in  disorder  to  the  shelter  of  a  brick  building  about 
which  the  camp  was  set.  Unfortunately  the  victors  were  over-confident  of  suc- 
cess and  scattered  in  search  of  plunder,  with  the  result  that  the  British  were  enabled 
to  gather  sufficient  strength  to  render  the  final  outcome  doubtful,  and  Greene,  bit- 
terly disappointed,  yet  ever  watchful  of  the  safety  of  his  army,  felt  compelled  to 
withdraw  and  trust  to  the  severity  of  the  blow  he  had  inflicted  to  force  the  enemy 
to  retreat.  He  took  with  him  five  hundred  prisoners,  making  the  British  loss,  with 
those  left  on  the  field,  nearly  a  thousand;  which,  as  was  anticipated,  decided  Stewart 
to  return  to  the  coast,  where  the  protection  of  the  British  ships  formed  their  only 
stronghold.  As  before,  detachments  under  Marion  and  Lee  followed  and  harassed 
the  retreating  army,  which,  to  be  less  encumbered,  destroyed  large  quantities  of 
stores,  and  left  behind  more  than  a  thousand  stands  of  arms.  Greene  retired, 
according  to  his  custom,  to  gather  reinforcements,  and  later  moved  to  the  vicinity  of 
Charleston,  where  his  presence  served  to  restrain  the  British  and  check  their  raids  on 
the  surrounding  country;  but  his  work  was  practically  done,  and  the  South,  the  most 
cruelly  devastated  section  of  the  Union,  was,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  points  on 
the  coast,  freed  from  British  dominion. 

Simultaneously  with  these  victories  in  South  Carolina  came  the  master-stroke  of 
the  Revolution,  —  the  operations  about  Yorktown  which  led  to  the  surrender  of  Corn- 
wallis.  The  successive  raids  into  Virginia  had  attracted  attention  to  that  quarter, 


Sutato 


but  the  expedition  under  Phillips  that  added  two  thousand  men  to  Arnold's  already 
strong  force,  and  Cornwallis' s  approach  from  the  South,  gave  to  the  situation  there 
an  importance  not  hitherto  possessed. 

Washington,  in  his  survey  of  existing  conditions,  realized  the  necessity  of  a  decisive 
engagement  that  should  successfully  terminate  the  Revolution,  which  otherwise  stood 
in  grave  danger  of  dissolution  as  a  result  of  the  apathy  and  incompetence  of  Congress, 
and  the  failure  of  the  states  not  directly  menaced,  to  continue  the  much-needed 
supplies  of  money  and  men.  To  this  end  he  sought  the  cooperation  of  Rochambeau 
and  his  French  troops,  and  the  fleet  under  De  Barras,  recently  arrived  at  Newport. 
The  choice  lay  between  New  York  and  Yorktown,  at  either  of  which  places  the 
ships  could  cooperate  with  the  land  forces,  an  essential  condition  to  the  complete 
victory  that  Washington  desired  to  ensure.  His  preference  at  first  was  for  New 
York  as  offering  the  greater  opportunity,  and  early  in  July  a  combined  attack  was 
made  on  the  forts  at  the  upper  end  of  Manhattan.  The  attempt  was  fruitless  as  to 
its  main  issue,  but  it  served  to  alarm  Clinton,  and  caused  him  to  withdraw  further 
aid  from  Cornwallis  ;  it  also  served  as  a  feint  and  enabled  Washington  to  make  un- 
suspected preparations  for  carrying  out  the  alternative  plan,  to  attack  the  forces  now 
combined  and  entrenched  at  Yorktown.  This  plan  gained  opportune  encouragement 
by  the  receipt  of  assurance  of  cooperation  from  Count  De  Grasse,  who  was  on  his 
way  from  the  West  Indies  with  another  and  larger  fleet. 

Lafayette,  whom  Cornwallis  unsuccessfully  endeavored  to  isolate,  had  been  joined 
by  Wayne  with  his  command,  and  together  they  had  driven  the  British  from  the  interior, 

engaging  them  at  Williamsburgand  Green  Spring,  and 
held  them  at  bay  at  Yorktown.  Neither  Cornwallis 
nor  Clinton  had  any  idea  that  Washington  would 
abandon  New  York  with  his  main  army,  and  this, 
with  the  operations  already  attempted,  and  the  elabor- 
ate preparations  made  by  the  latter  with  the  appar- 
ent purpose  of  continuing  on  the  same  lines,  enabled 
the  allied  armies  to  slip  away,  leaving  only  a  detach- 
ment to  hold  the  British  to  Manhattan,  and  get 
well  out  of  reach  before  Clinton  discovered  their 
absence.  When  he  became  aware  of  the  move- 
ment he  vainly  endeavored  to  divert  them  from 
their  purpose  by  sending  Arnold,  who  had  been  un- 
appreciatively  ordered  north  by  Cornwallis,  into 
Connecticut  to  ravage  and  excite  the  country.  Forts 
Trumbull  and  Griswold,  near  New  London,  were 
taken,  and  at  the  latter,  Colonel  Ledyard  and  nearly 
a  hundred  of  his  men  were  murdered,  after  having 
surrendered  in  good  faith.  New  London  was  burned 
to  complete  the  wanton  destruction. 

The  armies  under  Washington  crossed  the  Hud- 
son August  nineteenth,  and  marching  through  Phila- 
delphia, arrived  September  eighth  at  the  head  of 
Chesapeake  Bay,  where  they  gathered  transports 
and  awaited  the  French  fleet.  De  Grasse  had 


jFtranftfotrt 


1781 


Designed   by 
Thomas    J  eff  e  r  s  o  n 


of  3UU9 


arrived  at  the  entrance  to 
the  Chesapeake  and  was 
landing  troops  sent  to  re- 
inforce Rochambeau,  when 
a  British  fleet  under  Ad- 
miral Graves  appeared  off 
the  capes,  and  the  French 
at  once  went  out  to  meet 
it.  The  ensuing  action, 
while  not  eminently  de- 
cisive, was  severely  felt  by 
the  British,  who  lost  one 
ship  and  were  obliged  to 
sail  north  to  refit.  On  his 
return,  De  Grasse  found 
awaiting  him  the  squad- 

l   ci   t*   It      p?   o   tt   8   e    ron  under  De  Barras>  wh° 

had  eluded  the  English  fleet 

*  *    If   ^f^    A    ^+    A+    **         *5^  %    •*    ¥    ¥        ^[ft-   -%% 

W  I  41  *  17  V  Jf  7*?  I  4  I  xfr  J?  *  sent  to  intercept  him,  and 

arrived  safely  with  trans- 
ports and  siege  tools,  and  together  they  proceeded  up  the  bay  and  brought  down 
the  troops,  which  were  landed  at  Williamsburg,  September  twenty-sixth.  Joined 
by  Lafayette  and  the  French  reinforcements,  the  combined  armies,  numbering  in 
the  neighborhood  of  sixteen  thousand  men,  took  up  positions  about  Yorktown,  Sep- 
tember twenty-eighth,  and  laid  down  the  first  lines  of  the  siege. 

With  the  river,  against  which  the  town  was  set,  and  Gloucester  Point,  opposite, 
in  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  Yorktown  was  ill-adapted  to  successful  defense,  and 
Cornwallis  soon  found  himself  surrounded  with  steadily  approaching  armies.  His 
first  position  was  in  trenches  outside  the  town,  but  he  was  soon  obliged  to  withdraw 
to  the  inner  fortifications,  while  the  besiegers  occupied  his  abandoned  works.  Day 
by  day  the  lines  contracted  and  the  heavy  guns  battered  the  defenses  with  steady  ef- 
fectiveness. October  fourteenth  two  outlying  redoubts  were  taken,  one  by  the 
Americans  and  one  by  the  French,  and  Cornwallis,  realizing  the  desperateness  of  his 
situation,  resolved  to  stake  all  on  an  attempt  to  escape  by  the  river.  On  the  night  of 
the  sixteenth  he  embarked  a  detachment  of  his  men  which  reached  the  opposite  bank 
in  safety,  but  the  sudden  advent  of  a  storm  frustrated  his  plan,  and  the  troops  already 
over  were  with  difficulty  brought  back  the  following  day. 

His  last  hope  gone,  Cornwallis  sought  terms  of  surrender,  and  on  the  eighteenth 
the  articles  were  signed.  The  next  day  eight  thousand  men  laid  down  their  arms  to 
the  Americans,  and  the  British  ships  with  a  thousand  more  were  delivered  to  the 
French.  The  ceremony  was  very  imposing,  the  conquered  army  assuming  all  the 
dignity  permitted  by  the  articles  of  surrender.  Cornwallis  remained  in  his  quarters 
under  plea  of  sickness,  presenting  his  apologies  to  Washington  through  General 
O'Hara,  who  also  delivered  the  British  commander's  sword  to  General  Lincoln, 
whom  Washington,  as  a  slight  recompense  for  the  former's  like  humiliation  at  Char- 
leston, had  appointed  to  receive  it. 

The  careful  plan  had  been  wrought  out,  the  overwhelming  blow  had  been  struck; 


CTorntoaUts  sttr  rentiers 


t  palace     Iteto-J&ertte 

and  although  it  could  not  be  immediately  known,  the  end  of  the  Revolution  had 
come.  To  Washington  there  yet  appeared  much  need  of  continued  effort,  and  great 
exertion  was  required  on  his  part  to  prevent  an  easy  relaxation  after  such  a  notable 
victory.  King  George  was  still  insistent  for  war,  and  the  British  still  held  New  York 
and  Charleston. 

Further  reinforcements  were  sent  to  Greene,  who  continued  to  watch  Stewart  at 
the  latter  place,  and  Washington  withdrew  his  army  to  the  highlands  of  the  Hudson. 
Clinton,  with  late  awakening  to  the  danger  of  Cornwallis's  position,  had  started  with 
a  relief  expedition  and  arrived  at  the  entrance  to  the  Chesapeake  five  days  after  the 
surrender.  He  immediately  returned  to  New  York,  where  the  winter  was  quietly 
spent,  and  in  the  spring  was  succeeded  by  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  whose  appointment 
marked  the  accession  of  the  peace  party  in  Parliament,  and  whose  mission  was  as 
much  diplomatic  as  belligerent. 

Washington's  fear  of  further  aggression  and  his  appeals  for  continued  vigilance, 
while  justified  by  considerations  of  ordinary  caution,  and  the  unchanged  attitude  of 
King  George,  were  happily  unfounded,  and  events  slowly  but  inevitably  forwarded 
the  termination  of  the  war. 

In  England,  irresistible  surgings  of  public  opinion  were  steadily  decreasing  the  bal- 
ance of  power  held  by  the  King  and  his  party,  and  by  the  first  of  March  following 
the  surrender  at  Yorktown  they  were  reduced  to  a  minority.  King  George,  whose 
every  measure  in  the  history  of  the  war  had  been  too  late  for  its  opportunity,  still 
clung  to  the  hope  of  crushing  the  rebels,  but  he  was  practically  alone,  and  before  the 
month  had  passed,  Lord  North,  his  prime  minister,  was  forced  by  the  opposition  in 
Parliament  to  dissolve  his  cabinet  and  resign  the  government  to  the  Whigs.  Rock- 

ingham  came  in  at  the  head  of  the  dominant  party, 
but  he  was  broken  in  health  and  died  soon  after,  his 
place  being  taken  by  Lord  Shelburne,  then  secre- 
tary of  state. 

Franklin,  to  whose  victories  of  diplomacy  America's 
standing  abroad  was  chiefly  due,  had  already  opened 
negotiations  with  Shelburne;  and  with  Richard  Oswald, 
the  latter' s  agent,  had  drafted  at  Paris  the  terms  of 
peace.  After  much  diplomatic  contention,  in  which 


1782 


North    Carolina 


JCijc  ISutr  of  UK 


Franklin    was    joined    by    John    Adams,     Henry 
J  Laurens,    and  John  Jay;    and   Oswald   by  Henry 

Strachey,  the  preliminary  articles   were  signed  the 
thirtieth    of  November.        It    was  nearly  a  year 
later,    September  twenty-third,    1783,   when  the 
final   treaty    was  signed,  but  the  work  was  done 
when  the  first  draft  was  agreed  to,  and  this  country 
is  indebted  to  the  keenness  and  ability  of  its  rep- 
resentatives, especially  to 
Franklin,  for  much  more 
advantageous  terms   than 
could   reasonably,  have 
been  expected. 

The  troubles  of  the 
embryo  nation  having 
diminished  with  regard  to 
England,  the  looseness 
and  insufficiency  of  the 
central  government  be- 
came alarmingly  apparent, 
and  the  army,  the  only 
real  power,  from  being 
the  instrument  of  liberty, 

threatened  oppression  of  another  form.  All  through  the  war  the  inability  of  Congress  to 
provide  for  the  army  had  been  an  almost  paralyzing  difficulty,  but  in  one  way  or  another 
Washington  had  been  able  to  bridge  this  condition  and  maintain  an  effective  organi- 
zation. With  the  war  ended  and  the  urgency  of  action  less  apparent,  Congress  was 
at  the  point  of  abandoning  the  soldier  with  no  provision  for  arrears  of  pay,  and  no  as- 
surance of  even  remote  recompense  for  the  hardships  endured  and  the  battles  won. 
^783  The  disaffection  thus  engendered  permeated  the  entire  army  and  needed  but  the  lead- 
ership of  an  active  spirit  to  rise  to  organized  revolt.  This  leader  was  at  hand  in  the 
person  of  Major  John  Armstrong,  and  through  him  the  grievances  of  officers  and  men 
were  declared  in  the  form  of  a  written  address,  in  which  the  army  was  called  upon  to 
rise  in  its  power  and  assume  the  government.  Early  in  the  previous  year  a  some- 
1782  what  similar  movement  had  resulted  in  a  proposition  to  crown  Washington  and  de- 
clare him  king  ;  but  though  touched  by  this  evidence  of  devotion,  his  high  character 
was  proof  against  all  allurement,  and  he  unhesitatingly  rejected  the  offer,  denouncing 
the  principle,  and  pointing  out  the  priceless  benefits  of  the  liberty  for  which  they  had 
fought.  This  later  and  more  determined  demonstration  called  for  more  decisive  ac- 
tion, as  it  was  approved  by  the  general  body  of  officers,  and  a  day  appointed  for  in- 
augurating the  plan. 

Filled  with  grief,  alike  for  the  necessities  of  his  men  and  the  danger  of  the  nation, 
Washington  rebuked  the  movement  in  general  orders,  and  then,  calling  his  officers  to 
r783  meet  him,  he  reviewed  the  seriousness  of  the  step  contemplated,  and  with  deep 
emotion  appealed  to  them  to  stand  by  him  and  their  country,  trusting  to  the  final 
triumph  of  justice  and  the  righting  of  their  wrongs.  Promising  his  continued  efforts 
in  their  behalf,  the  general  withdrew,  and  the  officers,  yielding  to  his  entreaties, 


Xnsutrtrrction  imminent 


3F mne*   <£oo$e  (Treett  Jtdt. 


formally  resolved  against 
the  uprising.  Alarmed 
by  the  imminence  of  this 
peril,  Congress  was  stirred 
to  action,  and  by  partial 
payment,  and  land  war- 
rants, succeeded  in  paci- 
fying the  troops,  prepara- 
tory to  disbandment. 

Wayne,  whom  Greene 
had  sent,  soon  after  his 
arrival  from  Yorktown,  to 
operate  in  Georgia,  drove 
the  British  out  of  Savan- 

nah the  following  July,  and  on  the  fourteenth  of  December  the  same  year,  two 
weeks  after  the  preliminary  treaty  was  signed  at  Paris,  they  evacuated  Charleston. 
New  York  was  now  the  only  port  held,  and  Carleton  occupied  that  uneventfully 
during  the  following  year,  until  the  signing  of  the  final  treaty,  September  twenty-third, 
was  announced.  He  departed  in  state,  November  twenty-fifth,  and  as.  the  British 
marched  to  their  boats,  Washington,  with  Governor  Clinton,  entered  from  the  north 
and  took  possession.  By  this  final  act  the  United  States  were  freed  from  British  sover- 
eignty, and  the  independence  declared  in  1776  was  accomplished  before  the  world. 

His  work  finished,  Washington  called  his  officers  about  him,  and  bade  them  fare- 
well with  the  simple  dignity  that  had  characterized  his  communion  with  them,  but 
with  deep  emotion  and  fervent  wishes  for  their  future  prosperity.  In  silence  and  in 
tears  he  embraced  each  one,  and  then,  departing,  made  his  way  to  the  ferry,  followed 
by  the  company,  and,  entering  his  barge,  he  raised  his  hat  in  final  salute  and  began  his 
homeward  journey.  What  the  Revolution  could  have  been  without  Washington,  is 
difficult  to  imagine.  Through  it  all  he  stands  preeminent,  and  continued  study  of 
his  life  serves  but  to  further  impress  his  greatness.  To  the  wisdom  and  courage  that 
planned  his  operations  and  effected  them,  were  added  nobleness  and  virtue  that  bound 
his  army  to  him  in  bonds  of  love,  that  held  when  duty  was  forgotten. 

George  III,  to  whose  unwise  activity  the  independence  of  the  United  States  is 
due,  was,  with  all  his  deficiencies  in  statecraft,  an  honest  and  patriotic  ruler.  Sur- 
rounded by  scheming  and  intriguing  politicians,  with  only  here  and  there  a  straight- 
forward leader,  it  is  little  wonder  that  he  became  irretrievably  committed  to  a  policy 
in  which  there  was,  from  his  point  of  view,  room  for  honest  belief,  and  which  his 
fawning  courtiers  were  ever  ready  to  extol.  A  complicated  and  disproportionate 

system  of  representation  placed  undue  power 
in  the  hands  of  a  few,  while  the  great  body  of 
the  people  was  very  inadequately  represented. 
These  conditions,  in  times  so  degenerate,  made 
it  impossible  for  the  King  to  gain  his  ends  ex- 
cept by  barter  and  intrigue,  and  we  find  him 
often  the  distracted  victim  of  unfriendly  and 
exacting  cliques  whose  temporary  strength 
forces  recognition. 


South    Carolina 


an* 


TSTtto 


Believing  fully  in  his  divine  right  to  govern,  with  every  sentiment  of  hereditary 
prejudice  outraged  by  the  resistance  of  the  colonists,  King  George,  in  his  policy  of 
subjection,  was  at  least  true  to  his  natural  instincts,  for  which  we  must  allow  while 
condemning  the  vindictive  and  oppressive  measures  resulting  from  it.  Strong  and 
unrelenting  as  was  his  enmity  in  war,  his  right-heartedness  is  evidenced  by  the 
equal  sincerity  of  his  friendliness  when  finally  he  realized  the  failure  of  his  cause  ; 
his  prayer  to  this  end  expressed  before  Parliament,  when,  with  emotion,  he 
acknowledged  England's  defeat,  that  "religion,  language,  interest  and  affection 
might  prove  a  bond  of  permanent  union  between  the  two  countries,"  is  a  worthy 
tribute  of  magnanimity,  but  it  has  been  tardy  of  fulfillment,  and  the  century 
now  closing  has,  from  the  beginning,  witnessed  strife,  and  jealousy,  and  unworthy 
suspicion. 

Recent  events,  however,  have  clearly  revealed  the  underlying  kinship  and  natural 
sympathy  of  the  two  nations,  and  notwithstanding  the  contention  which  must  result 
from  the  conscientious  discharge  of  duty  by  representatives  of  these  governments, 
a  warmer  friendship  is  assured,  which  it  is  hoped  will  ultimately  realize  the  contrite 
benediction  of  King  George  III. 


G  e  o  r  g  i  a 


ON  THE  FOLLOWING  PAGES  A  FEW  OF  THE  SMALLER 
PIECES  OF  THE  GEORGIAN  PATTERN  ARE  REPRESENTED. 
IT  IS  MADE  IN  STERLING  SILVER  ONLY  .(925-1000  FINE) 
AND  INCLUDES  EVERY  ARTICLE  OF  TABLE  FLAT  WARE. 
A  CATALOGUE  FULLY  ILLUSTRATING  THIS  LINE 
MAY  BE  HAD  FROM  LEADING  JEWELERS,  OR  WILL 
BE  MAILED  TO  ANY  ADDRESS  ON  REQUEST. 


IN  adopting  the  Georgian  Style  as  a  motive  for  this 
design,  we  recognize  the  wide  and  still  growing  appre- 
ciation of  every  manifestation  of  colonial  architecture. 
While  this  style  is  more  nearly  indigenous  than  any  other 
that  the  changing  tastes  of  recent  years  have  approved, — its 
precedent  being  identified  with  so  much  that  is  vital  in  the 
early  history  of  our  country,  and  its  characteristics  so 
amenable  to  existing  conditions, — we  must  remember  that 
plans  and  fittings  were  first  brought  from  England,  where, 
early  in  the  reign  of  George  III,  the  reproduction  of 
classical  designs  became  fashionable. 

Inigo  Jones  and  Sir  Christopher  Wren  had  long  before 
revived  and  adapted  the  teachings  of  Palladio  and  other 
Italian  masters,  and  their  influence  prepared  the  way  for 
popular  acceptance  of  the  promulgations  of  James  Stewart, 
who  returned,  in  1762,  from  extended  residence  and  study 
in  Greece.  The  first  fruits  of  the  application  of  a  style 
developed  by  the  needs  of  public  and  religious  life  in  a  mild 
climate,  to  the  domestic  requirements  of  England,  were 
absurd  in  the  extreme;  but  a  growing  recognition  of  its 
limitations  evolved  the  charming  if  not  pure  style  with 
which  we  are  familiar. 

In  the  search  for  novelty  its  merits  were  for  many  years 
overlooked ;  but  gradually  the  beauty  of  the  old  work  has 
become  apparent,  and  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that 
the  favor  in  which  this  style  is  now  established  will  be 
lasting. 


of 


OF  THK 

UNIVERSITY 

^ 


Dessert 


Chow    Chow         -. 


Bouillon 


Horse   Radish 


Preserve 


Sugar 


Jelly 


Butter  Spreader 


Butter  Knife 


Butter  Pick 


Hollow  Handle  Butter 
Spreader 


Individual  Fish 


Hollow   Handle   Dessert 


Pastry 


Sardine  Fork 


f 

Oyster 


Beef 


Cream    Ladle 


Chow  Chow 


Orange 


Confection   Spoon 


Sugar  Sifter 


*     A    COPY    OF    THE 

Colonial  iiootu 

FIRST  SERIES,  IN 
WHICH  ARE  PICTURED 
AND  DESCRIBED  MANY 
HISTORIC  PLACES  IN 
NEWBURYPORT  AND 
NEIGHBORING  CITIES, 
WILL  BE  SENT,  ON 
REQUEST,  BY  THE 
TOWLE  MFG.  COM- 
PANY, SILVERSMITHS, 
NEWBURYPORT,  MASS., 
AND  CHICAGO,  ILL. 


COMPILED  AND  ARRANGED  BY  GEORGE  P.  TILTON, 

OF  THE  TOWLE  MFG.  COMPANY. 
PRINTED  BY  CARL  H.  HEINTZEMANN,  BOSTON,  MASS. 


UNIYER    ' 


LD  2lA-40m-2,' 
(J6057slO)476— A-32 


